I guess it had to come to this, what with books and learning out the window, the rule of law on the trash heap, and a Visigoth in the White House.
Our little ones, already struggling as “kids,” have been downgraded to “kiddos.”
I first heard this reference a few years ago at a Haines School Board meeting, where a high-ranking district official used it. I thought I’d misheard, as my hearing is not so good, but there it was again, and again: the word kiddos used to describe public school students.
I winced and felt embarrassed for the official, a transplant from the Deep South. Certainly, this is a regional appellation, I figured. Someone will impress upon her that use of the non-word was not only unprofessional and dismissive of students, but also made her sound like a hayseed.
That didn’t happen. Instead, kiddos spread like a virus. I started hearing it around town, on television and radio and God forbid, it’s somewhere in print already. So it may be too late, but this is my plea: Please, just say no to kiddos.
First, it sounds like a snack food or breakfast cereal. “Try delicious Kiddos, in new Cinnamon Flavor or Original Recipe!”
Second, the “dos” suffix demotes children to a stature lower even than kids, a slang word that makes young people equivalent to baby goats. In the animal kingdom, a kiddo must fall somewhere between a baby goat and an amoeba. And if that is all that kiddos are, I’m not sure why we’d even bother educating them.
Webster’s New World Dictionary, the definitive source for Americanized English, defines “kid” as “child or young person” only as its 5th definition, and notes that such use is not standard, but colloquial.
Language is important. It reflects our values, including the value we place on individuals within our society. Our language around young people is especially important, as it shapes their view of themselves and the world they’re discovering and inheriting.
Chilkat Valley News founder Ray Menaker, a lifelong teacher and humanitarian, wouldn’t allow the words “kids” in his newspaper. “They’re children,” Ray would say, “not baby goats.”
Ray treated children with respect. I think Ray understood he was working with clay that would one day harden to a shape, and he wanted the shape of his grown students to be solid and sturdy and sound.
So should we. So just say no to kiddos. For that matter, say no to kids. Try children. It is respectful, and it works.