History Main / AdorablyPrecociouschild

* Kevin in the first two ''Film/HomeAlone'' films.

* Pierre from ''VideoGame/HarvestMoon'' would be an almost archetypal example, between his cute, childish appearance, and his mature, sophisticated behavior... Except for that fact that no-one ever fails to take him seriously, even though he looks younger than every other character that's ''not'' explicitly a small child. Making this weirder, he's also an {{Expy}} for an especially grotesque {{Gonk}}.

* Tip from ''WesternAnimation/{{Home}}'' is quite mature for a young teen and often acts as the adult between her and her mother.

* Penny Sanchez of ''WesternAnimation/ChalkZone'', a {{Meganekko}}, CuteBookworm, and the hero's best friend. She has been known to give lectures on quantum physics, as well as being the best student in her class.

* ''Series/ResidentAlien'': Sarah is remarkably responsible and serious for her age, helping Max in his bid to expose Harry as being an alien. Though she does act like a kid as well, it's part of her charm.

* Gabby of ''ComicBook/AllNewWolverine''. She's the 13-year-old clone of ComicBook/{{X 23}}, a mutant like her with a HealingFactor and WolverineClaws, trained to be a killer, and is ridiculously intelligent and very adult in how she reacts to the world. And then she turns around and gushes about making a costume for her pet wolverine both to protect his identity ''and'' because it's adorable. She also does her hair in barrettes, and wears mismatched TightsUnderShorts and big, chunky pink tennis shoes.

This kid may not have even hit puberty yet, but acts as if always preoccupied with responsibility. They work hard at whatever they do and treat things seriously, [[PingPongNaivity but every once in a while they do indeed act like a kid (and hate the subsequent teasing)]]. Usually not taken too seriously by anyone and hate being treated like a kid by adults, even if they secretly like the attention.

This kid may not have even hit puberty yet, but acts as if always preoccupied with responsibility. They work hard at whatever they do and treat things seriously, but every once in a while they do indeed act like a kid (and hate the subsequent teasing). Usually not taken too seriously by anyone and hate being treated like a kid by adults, even if they secretly like the attention.

* Rebecca "Becky" Miyamoto, the protagonist of the wacky series ''Anime/PaniPoniDash'' is the adorable homeroom teacher of Class 1-C, who somehow graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (whose name she's barely able to pronounce, no less.) at the age of 10 and somehow received a job at Japanese high school soon after, and also has long MulticoloredHair, [[CryCute an adorable cry when she's scared or hurt]], and often teaches her students in a lab coat that goes all the way to her ankles[[note]]after failing to be taken seriously in a gothic lolita dress in episode 2[[/note]].

* Tip from ''WesternAnimation/{{Home}}'' is quite mature for a young teen and often acts as the adult between her and her mother.

* Bugsy from Franchise/{{Pokemon}}, one of the youngest Gym Leaders in the series, but also one very dedicated researcher. And while he's always deep into his research (bug Pokemon in the game, ruins in the manga), he sometimes shows a very child-like enthusiasm about what he likes. It also adds to his charm that he's [[ViewerGenderConfusion often confused for a girl]].

Compare with CheerfulChild, InnocentProdigy or WiseBeyondTheirYears; contrast TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior. Sometimes also a TokenMiniMoe. See also KidsRaidingTheWineCabinet.

* Double D from ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'', to the point of cleaning his friends with napkins and occasionally scolding their immature behaviour as if he were [[TeamMom their mother.]]

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* Ken Amada from ''VideoGame/Persona3'' seems like a typical one of these at first. He acts unusually mature and serious, and isn't taken all that seriously by the older party members. However, it's later revealed that [[spoiler:he joined SEES so he could exact revenge on his mother's killer]].

* Riku from ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' was extremely perceptive and insightful at five years old, able to immediately spot an off-worlder and give Sora outstanding advice about a complicated issue.
* Culotte of ''VideoGame/LaPucelle''. He's generally much more mature than his PromotedToParent big sister, and hates being treated like a child. He's also ''adorable.''
* Jr. from the ''VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}}'' series plays with this trope. He's certainly set up to be a typical precocious child, acting far more mature than his tender years would suggest. However, he's generally taken seriously by everyone he meets, and we later learn he's actually pretty immature for his age, seeing as how he's chronologically in his thirties.
* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
** Link definitely qualifies. None of his reincarnations are older than 16, some as young as 12, but he has no trouble taking the whole "fate of the world" thing in stride. Same goes for the younger Zeldas, who are always preoccupied with the protection of Hyrule even if they're not old enough to rule it yet.
** Pamela in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'' is an adorable little girl with YouthfulFreckles who locks her father in the closet during his SlowTransformation into a [[{{Mummy}} Gibdo]] and refuses to open the door for anyone to prevent the Gibdos outside from taking him away. After Link returns him to normal, she says she'll try to convince him to leave the dangerous Ikana Canyon go back to Clock Town.
** [[AChildShallLeadThem Riju]] from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild''. Losing her mother and taking her place as Chief of the Gerudo at such a young age forced her to grow up fast, yet she does a remarkably good job of it, and she also displays a knowledge of the LostTechnology of the Sheikah almost as good as that of the Sheikah themselves. She still [[GirlsLoveStuffedAnimals plays with stuffed animals]], though, something she'll be embarrassed about if you catch her doing it.

* Genis from ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' qualifies very much. He's [[WiseBeyondTheirYears dang mature]] and can even be a DeadpanSnarker when he feels up to it.
* Laphicet from ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'', once he's allowed to break out of his shell and emote, is quite curious about the natural phenomenon of the world. The kid risks his life for a compass!
* The professor's boy assistant Luke Triton from ''VideoGame/ProfessorLayton.'' Acts mature? Check. Isn't always taken seriously? Check. Played for cute? So very much check.
* Pierre from ''VideoGame/HarvestMoon'' would be an almost archetypal example, between his cute, childish appearance, and his mature, sophisticated behavior... Except for that fact that no-one ever fails to take him seriously, even though he looks younger than every other character that's ''not'' explicitly a small child. Making this weirder, he's also an {{Expy}} for an especially grotesque {{Gonk}}.
* Alfred, the adorable younger brother to Maya and a member of the rival gang of Drifters in ''VideoGame/WildArms3''. He's clearly more mature and level-headed than his impulsive, treasure-seeking sister.
* Bugsy from Franchise/{{Pokemon}}, one of the youngest Gym Leaders in the series, but also one very dedicated researcher. And while he's always deep into his research (bug Pokemon in the game, ruins in the manga), he sometimes shows a very child-like enthusiasm about what he likes. It also adds to his charm that he's [[ViewerGenderConfusion often confused for a girl]].

* Carl Clover from ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'', despite being just a kid, he's a vigilante that has captured many criminals with the help of Nirvana. He always talks in a very professional matter and dislikes being treated as a kid. His attitude does hide a rather vulnerable side of him, though.

* The ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' character Pearl -- despite being eight -- speaks in a formal, verbose manner, and rarely takes anything lightly. This comes of spending her whole life in the archaic Fey compound, isolated from everyone but her (much older) family members[[spoiler:-one of whom was deliberately grooming Pearl to be the next Fey leader]]. Still, she has a child's changeable emotions, naivete, and tendency to {{Squee}}.

* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestV'': During the first act, the main character is a cute but serious, committed and responsible kid who has been travelling with his father all over the world to find his disappeared mother. His son Parry is only an eight-year-old kid, but he has to deal with the responsibilities of being a prince, looking for his disappeared parents, and being the Chosen One. Parry's twin sister Madchen tends to take her role as a princess even more seriously.

* Bram, from ''Webcomic/BramAndVlad'', has alrady written four scientific monographs, and he is a precocious 13-years-old genius who inspires some respect. When he is not being a huge dork.

* Brainiac 5 in the ''WesternAnimation/LegionOfSuperHeroes'' cartoon was made into this kind of (pre-)TeenGenius for the first season, in contrast to his snarky InsufferableGenius characterization in recent comics.
* Tricks from ''WesternAnimation/{{Scruff}}'' is a TalkingAnimal version of this trope, being a young Border Collie pup with an easygoing, smart, modest but playful personality.
* BadassAdorable Omi from ''WesternAnimation/XiaolinShowdown'' acts very mature for his age and takes his job as a monk seriously. Still, he can be interested in fun things he never experienced, like video games and basketball and his lack of social skills makes him naive.
* The titular character of ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'' OWNS this trope. Acts as if he's preoccupied with responsibility, once had a crush on an older girl (well, she was only two grades ahead), and one of the most adorable kids on the show.
* Flip Chan in ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingChanAndTheChanClan''. He acts responsible for Mimi, Nancy and Scooter when they're out on the case, and is quite a cute kid.
** Mimi and Scooter are no slouches in the cute department, either. Mimi usually pushes her authority on Scooter, who wants to launch head on into the episode's unsolved crime.
* Yugo from ''WesternAnimation/{{Wakfu}}'' is one of the most emotionally mature, yet earnestly childish examples of this trope.

%% * The titular characters of ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'', ''especially'' Phineas. Baljeet as well.
* Mac from ''WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends''. He's only 8 years old, but is intelligent, usually pretty mature for his age, has his childish moments, and is downright adorable.
%% * The male members of the ''WesternAnimation/{{Recess}}'' gang. Especially T.J. and Gus. And the female ones. Gretchen is a child prodigy, rather level headed, but having most of the same impulses and naiveté as the rest of the group.

%% * Lance from ''WesternAnimation/SymBionicTitan'' was this as a child.

%% * Timmy Turner, A.J., Chester and indeed much of the main cast of WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents are this
* Robin from ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'', though he's thirteen and technically ''juuust'' outside of the proper age range. But since he's the youngest ''and'' the most experienced crime fighter of the six main characters, the effect is pretty much the same. See also: [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Billy Batson]].
* Amberley of ''WesternAnimation/TheDreamstone'' has shades of this at times. She's noticeably more intelligent than Rufus and unlike him, seems to hold down her job rather competently. Most episodes have her act as a leader or strategist of the two. At times however, her bratty temper flares and she proves rather rambunctious.
* The eight-year-old Kate from ''WesternAnimation/{{Pelswick}}'' almost acts like the mom of the house, doing such things as trying to manage her father looking for a job and her older brother thinking about higher education.
* Penny Sanchez of ''WesternAnimation/ChalkZone'', a {{Meganekko}}, CuteBookworm, and the hero's best friend. She has been known to give lectures on quantum physics, as well as being the best student in her class.

* In ''WesternAnimation/FrozenII'', when Elsa conjures ice toys for the kids in Arendelle, a little girl asks Elsa for a sextant (Elsa is surprised but manages to do it).
* Double D from ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'', to the point of cleaning his friends with napkins and occasionally scolding their immature behaviour as if he were [[TeamMom their mother.]]
* Peedee Fryman from ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse.'' In his debut episode he's gotten a job in [[FamilyBusiness his family's restaurant]] to impress his father, only to [[TheEeyore get depressed]] that he's been stuck with the lame mascot position. In subsequent episodes he's been promoted to deep fryer and seems much happier. His older brother [[ConspiracyTheorist Ronaldo]], on the other hand, [[FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling slacks off and has Peedee cover for him]].

* ''WesternAnimation/BadDog'' has Little Vic, the youngest member of the Potanski Family, and the one with whom Berkeley has the closest relationship.

* Kam Chin from ''WesternAnimation/ClassOf3000'' tries to act mature and refined, but he's still the youngest of the kids (along with Kim, his twin sister) and is ultimately NotSoAboveItAll when it comes to the zanier aspects of the series.

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%%* ''Anime/{{Gigantor}} / Tetsujin-28 go'' Shotaro Kaneda
* ''Anime/HareGuu'': Haré has to take care of his [[HardDrinkingPartyGirl drunken partying mom]] ([[AbsurdlyYouthfulMother who is only in her 20s]]) and as the straight man ends up being driven crazy by Guu's craziness.
* ''Manga/FruitsBasket'': Hiro Sohma, being an actual middle schooler (Momiji is a high-schooler who looks like a middle schooler) who is clearly much more responsible than his mother and gets extremely offended any time he thinks someone is treating him like a child.

* Negi of ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'' (pictured above) was the basic polite version earlier on in the manga, while Kotaro Inugami is more of a MouthyKid. Both of them, however, are extremely capable on their own. Due to GenreShift and liberal use of magical age-up pills, Negi has this trope more or less [[BreakTheCutie beaten out of him]] by various physical and emotional trauma by the midpoint of the story, although he hasn't been broken of the habit entirely.
* ''Anime/PanzerWorldGalient'': TheHero Jordy Volder is a surprisingly focused and capable fighter, considering the fact that he's merely ''[[KidHero 12 years-old]]''.
* ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'': BarrierWarrior Yuuno Scrya is a 9 years old archeologist and magic prodigy, the latter to the point of not even requiring a device to ''[[ExcuseMeWhileIMultitask fend off Vita while he's analysing the magic prison spell they're in to find a way out]]''.
* ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'': Yahiko. Turns into more of a CuteBruiser by the end of the series, to the point that he gets his own sakabato and a lot more responsibility in the epilogue.
* Mamoru Shimesu in ''Anime/PhantomQuestCorp''. He actually runs the company, the contacts, the finances, etc. while his boss Ayaka spends their funds on booze. He has a very stressful job.
* Though he's 13 (and then 14), Riku from ''Anime/BloodPlus'' looks younger. He also acts much older, too.
* Hitsugaya Toshirou of ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' also seems to suffer from this, except that a lot of people in the story do treat him seriously, because he's in a position of authority. Although he's ReallySevenHundredYearsOld, he still suffers from this because the rest of the characters he works with are even ''older''.
* Yukio from ''Manga/BlueExorcist'' has forced himself into this to protect his brother. Though he is now a teen, he still qualifies as he is way more mature than the other characters of his age and in a higher position. [[spoiler: Recent revelations has turned this into a SubvertedTrope as Yukio is in no way actually mature or, to say the least, [[{{Jerkass}} cute]] either.]]
* Jim Hawkings in ''Manga/OutlawStar'', who is clearly the more mature of the group between him and his "aniki" Gene.
* ''Manga/AngelSanctuary'' has Metatron as this. Yes, [[Literature/TheBible that Metatron]].

* ''Franchise/SailorMoon'':
** Shingo Tsukino is like this (when he's not slipping into AnnoyingYoungerSibling mode). He's highly intelligent, much more mature than his sister, and manages to charm quite a few ladies over the course of the series (both older and younger than him).
** Chibiusa (Rini) is a sad version of this (when she's not acting like a BrattyHalfPint); due to circumstances in her future, she has to grow up fast and act mature for her age.
* Czeslaw Meyer of ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}'' deliberately tries to cultivate this image, despite being ReallySevenHundredYearsOld. He claims he isn't used to being treated any other way.
* In ''Manga/DNAngel'', there's the main character, Daisuke, and his rival, TroubledButCute Satoshi. Daisuke acts closer to the typical version, whereas Satoshi is a [[WiseBeyondTheirYears Wise Beyond His Years]] college graduate (despite being only 14).
* ''Anime/RevolutionaryGirlUtena'''s Mitsuru Tsuwabuki, who is constantly bending to Nanami's every whim and taking care of her business, takes the desire to be treated like an adult to extremes -- [[spoiler:his rants during the Mikage Seminar and his duel with Utena border on the AxCrazy. "I want to become an adult and wreck the whole world! Wreck it!" "You become an adult by destroying other adults!" Or something to that effect.]]

* Usso Evin in ''[[Anime/MobileSuitVictoryGundam Victory Gundam]]'', who is the second youngest Franchise/{{Gundam}} protagonist at the tender age of 13 but also lived mostly alone and takes care of/is friends with the even younger 11 year old shakti. He [[GrandTheftPrototype hijacks]] a mobile suit mid-air singlehandedly for himself, and has to be blackmailed (in a way) to pilot the titular Gundam. In a aversion of this trope, people only make fun of him when he's being childish since whenever he's being serious... well, [[DarkerAndEdgier it's not funny.]]
* Mokuba Kaiba from the (second) ''Anime/YuGiOh'' anime. A clear case of {{Bowdlerization}}, since in the [[Manga/YuGiOh original manga]] he qualifies more as an EnfantTerrible (but responsible, for that). His big sister is a big brother.
* Boo from ''Anime/NowAndThenHereAndThere'' is adorable, loyal, protective, loving, responsible, mature, kind, innocent (but not for long), and realistic. He's also a child soldier, forced to fight in a mad king's army. The responsibility on his shoulders is staggering. Doesn't have a CoolBigSis, but latches onto the series' EnsembleDarkHorse, even [[spoiler: taking a bullet for him]].
* ''Manga/SayonaraZetsubouSensei'' has Majiru, Nozomu's nephew, who looks to be around 7-9 and sorta looks like a mini version of Nozomu. A bit snarky/mouthy, but still cute. He's not actually responsible for anything, but he acts very mature and sophisticated for his age. And he & [[{{Hikikomori}} Kiri Komori]] seem to be developing [[NoYay feelings for each other]].

* ''Manga/BlackButler'': Ciel Phantomhive is a more dark take on the trope. The reason he acts serious and mature is the trauma he endured through losing his parents, and being kidnapped and tortured by cultists. He's now a driven, if jaded, Earl and owner of his own toy and candy company while he searches for the culprits in said torture.
* Sui Takishima, from ''Manga/SpecialA''. Seeing as his big brother is basically perfect, it takes some persuasion by Hikari before Sui decides to actually do something. Once he ''does'', however, he's almost as stuck up as Kei.
* ''Manga/HanaukyoMaidTeam''. Taro is only 14 years old but tries his best to act in a responsible manner as head of the Hanaukyo family, including looking after the maids' welfare. Although the maids technically are under his orders, they at least influence what he does most of the time and sometimes (as in head Security maid Konoe Tsurugi's case) try to order him around.
* Makoto from ''Manga/WanderingSon'' is only around 10 at the start of the story but is remarkably mature for her age, even compared to the other characters.

* Ryuu from ''Manga/SnowWhiteWithTheRedHair'' is 12 years old, and a full-fledged court pharmacist at the royal palace the story mostly takes place in. He takes helping his patients fairly seriously, though they [[IntelligenceEqualsIsolation tend to see him as a]] CreepyChild.
* Ken in ''Anime/PowerpuffGirlsZ'' is one of these kids, and swings from being a ChildProdigy to being plain dorky, and the three Powerpuff Girls will often treat him like their cute younger brother (though they are not related to each other). Ken is an only child, living with his father (Professor Utonium) in Tokyo Laboratory, while his mother is an astronaut on the International Space Station.
* Chiyo Mihama from ''Manga/AzumangaDaioh''. She's always in a good mood, very childish and cute as a button...yet also always knows the answers, helps her (high school) classmates, and is more mature than many of them. She definitely fits the "precocious" part, since she's a ChildProdigy who was smart enough to [[GradeSkipper skip several grades]] and start high school at 10 years old.
* As a kid, Goku from ''Franchise/DragonBall'' as well as his sons Gohan and Goten. Trunks from the main timeline also counts.
* Protagonist Niina from ''Manga/HajimariNoNiina'': only 10, but with a very mature outlook on life as a result of being the reincarnation of a 16-year-old girl.
* While not part of one of the three main stories, ''Manga/SekaiichiHatsukoi'' has Hiyori from the spin-off novel "Yokozawa Takafumi no Baai". Multiple characters, but especially Yokozawa himself point out several times that she is pretty mature for a ten year old. Justified since her dad is busy with work and a total clutz at home, so she is mostly responsible for the household. She has instances where she is a normal kid though (even though she greatly dislikes when people point it out).

* Syaoran Li from ''Manga/CardCaptorSakura'', the 10[=/=]11-year-old rival-turned-love-interest who tries so hard to be serious and no-nonsense and mature (and for the most part does passably, keeping pace with Sakura in the capturing of Clow Cards in the earlier seasons and even living on his own in the manga continuity), but is still too small and cute for this to be truly effective, especially since he breaks out in [[LuminescentBlush a bright blush]] the second he's complimented or shown affection.
* An oddly disturbing example is found in the titular protagonist of ''LightNovel/SagaOfTanyaTheEvil'', who is a ruthless [[ItsAllAboutMe self-serving]] BloodKnight and a ''very'' CreepyChild... and is also an adorable 10-year-old girl with blonde hair, azure eyes, and porcelain skin, who so happens to be a natural leader and powerful mage. Tanya sometimes uses this to ''her advantage'', to get rival commanders to underestimate her, among any other uses she may need to act cute for, even if she loathes every second of it. On one memorable occasion, she wanted to attack an enemy munitions factory, but ethical guidelines required her to first announce on an international channel her intention of attacking the factory so civilian workers would have time to evacuate... but she broadcast her warning in the ''cutest'' voice she could muster, so everyone would think it was some kind of prank, and nobody evacuated, and she went ahead and blew up the factory with everyone still inside.

* Raiha Uesugi of ''Manga/TheQuintessentialQuintuplets''. She's well aware of her family's financial state, and she handles the cooking and housework (despite her young age, she's actually very good a it). Her brother Fuutarou comments that she often holds back on asking for things she wants, and he actually spends his first tutoring paycheck on taking her to an arcade simply so she can act like a child for once.

* Creator/MaraWilson made a career out of playing this character in the 1990s.

* Morgan Stark from ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' is heavily implied to be a prodigious tech genius as, while most girls her age are playing with dolls and stumbling through a jumbo puzzle, Morgan explores the garage, plays with her mother's high tech battle helmet and enjoys watching her father work and otherwise proves to be a bit more advanced than most 4 year-olds, all on top of being tooth-achingly cute.
* The titular protagonist of ''Film/KidDetective2020'' had a detective agency as a child, which the adults around him thought was very cute.

* ''Series/ShakeItUp'':
** Flynn Jones. He handwaves that he's "the only responsible person around here", and even got a model to like him, saying he's adorable.
** Flynn's friend Henry Dillon: he's a ChildProdigy and InsufferableGenius but is much more naive than Flynn.
* Doctor Sweets of ''{{Series/Bones}}''. He's the youngest member of the team and cannot get himself taken seriously because of it, tends to lapse into SophisticatedAsHell mid psych-babble, looks up to the two main characters as [[ParentalSubstitute Parental Substitutes]], and is all around dorky but cute.
* Nicki Reagan on ''Series/BlueBloods'' is in middle school when the series started, but dresses and behaves like a thirty-two year old. She isn't cowed by any of the Reagans, regardless of age, and seems to view herself as the matriarch of the family.
* Tim and Heather's youngest daughter Sophia astounds her parents with her intelligence in ''Series/LifeInPieces''. Tim has a hard time reconciling the fact that his daughter's so smart yet hadn't figured out that Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy weren't real until someone told her.

* French sitcom ''Series/LesFillesDaCote'' gives us Wendy, the six year old daughter of central character [[TheDitz Fanny]], whose role in the series is to be precocious, adorable, and to Lampshade where Maman and her two adoptive ''tantes'' get it wrong.

-->'''Lyanna Mormont:''' We are not a large house, but we are a proud one, and every man from Bear Island fights with the strength of ten mainlanders.
-->'''Davos Seaworth:''' If they're half as ferocious as their lady, the Boltons are doomed.

* Sheldon Cooper in ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' was certainly a precocious child, skipping middle and high school practically altogether and going straight to university aged about twelve. From the recollections of his mother and others, ''adorable'' was, however, debatable and a matter of opinion. He would appear, in context, to have had a lot in common with Ruth Lawrence. (see ''Real Life'', below.) The spin-off series ''Series/Young Sheldon'' expands on this and gives us a picture of the life and family of Sheldon Cooper, aged nine.

* Rare Western literature example -- Eoin Colfer's book ''Literature/TheSupernaturalist'' involved a 'kid' called Ditto who was ReallySevenHundredYearsOld -- okay, in his early twenties -- but as he was a naturally-immature adult he occasionally cracked.
** Eoin Colfer also brings us Literature/ArtemisFowl, who at the beginning of the series is a twelve-year-old evil genius who plans to rebuild the Fowl family fortune using fairy gold. Adults are always nonplussed at his mannerisms and speech patterns, and his mother wants him to act like a normal kid.

* Otto in ''Literature/SomeoneElsesWar'' is this trope UpToEleven.

* Rebecca "Becky" Miyamoto, the protagonist of the wacky series ''Anime/PaniPoniDash'' is the adorable home room teacher of Class 1-C, who somehow graduated from The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Who's name she's barley able to pronounce, no less.) at the age of 10 and somehow received a job at Japanese high school soon after, and also has long MulticoloredHair, [[CryCute an adorable cry when she's scared or hurt]], and often teaches her student in a lab coat that goes all the way to ankles[[note]]after failing to be taken seriously in a gothic lolita dress in episode 2[[/note]].

* Morgan Stark from ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' is heavily implied to be a prodigious tech genius as while must girls her age are playing with dolls and stumbling through a jumbo puzzle Morgan explore's the garage, plays with her mother's high tech battle helmet and enjoys watching her father work and otherwise proves to be a bit more advanced then most 4 year-olds, all on top of being tooth-achingly cute.

* Ken in ''Anime/PowerpuffGirlsZ'' is one of these kids, and is swings from being a ChildProdigy to being plain dorky, and the three Powerpuff Girls will often treat him like their cute younger brother (though they are not related to each other). Ken is an only child, living with his father (Professor Utonium) in Tokyo Laboratory, while his mother is an astronaut on the International Space Station.

Often their family situation is problematic, although they may have a [[CoolBigSis big]] [[OneeSama sister]] [[AloofBigBrother or]] [[BigBrotherMentor brother]] they respect and admire. The Adorably Precocious Child can attach to the closest adult who lets them, creating an IntergenerationalFriendship, and often finding a ParentalSubstitute. This is especially common if they're also a BrattyHalfPint. Sometimes this works in reverse, and the adult character may have to defend themselves against [[MistakenForPedophile unwholesome comments]] by other characters by insisting they're LikeBrotherAndSister, or, more often, explain that the child is LikeASonToMe, or even a ReplacementGoldfish for a dead relative.

* [[PlayerCharacter Chara]] in ''VideoGame/TSUnderswap''. They have a dry and sometimes [[LittleMissSnarker sassy]] running commentary, take notes in their journal on the monsters they encounter along with illustrating the monsters with crayon drawings, and their sprite has open eyes but a neutral expression like [[VideoGame/{{Undertale}} the Human Child's]], giving them an earnest, serious look at all times, even when sitting on a bench and childishly swinging their legs back and forth. It gets extra adorable if you equip the Cowboy Hat that Chara is under the impression makes them "look tough", since they wear it in the overworld too and make a point of carefully taking it off for naps and putting it back on when it gets knocked off their head.