History Main / JustAKid

* In ''[[VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy Dissidia 012 Duodecim Final Fantasy]]'', [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII Vaan]] thinks that the Onion Knight is way too young to be fighting with the rest of them, and elects to be his [[BigBrotherInstinct "older brother"]]. This mainly consists of him trying to get Onion Knight to take it easy at every term which ''really'' ticks off the Onion Knight, who's surprisingly mature and strong for his age.

* ''VideoGame/{{Bastion}}'' averts this, as the main protagonist is not only one of the few survivors of TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt, but he's Only 16 or so. Then he gets MoreDakka. A hammer, shotgun, rifle, bow, flamethrower, machete, spear, indestructible shield, and an OP cannon. More than Enuff Dakka for such a young Kid, huh? Even the Narrator thinks so.

** But then again, in a vague spoiler, he did [[spoiler: lose a lot through his early life at the Rippling Walls]]. DeusAngstMachina much?

* In the ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'' franchise:

** Played for laughs in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar'':
--->'''Sylvia''': My name is Sylvia, but you can call me 'Sylvie'!\\
'''Sigurd''': Huh? Just a little girl. You better find a place to hide, it's dangerous here.\\
'''Sylvia''': Little... GIRL!? You ever see a little girl with [[GagBoobs THESE!?]]

*** [[TheHero Ike]] has this attitude when Mist joins along with Rolf in chapter 9. He quickly gets over it, though he remains protective throughout the rest of the two games. Justified in that she's his only living blood family left.

*** Arden from ''Geneaology of the Holy War'' is shocked to see [[Really700YearsOld Nowi]] on the battlefield for this reason.

* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' series: The younger Links occasionally get this treatment. In game, the general populace of Hyrule have various reasons for why they don't believe Link, despite him wearing the clothes of the hero, ranging from "nice fancy dress" to "you playing let's-pretend-we're-the-hero-of-time" to having it become tradition in various places that children wear the same clothes as the legends tell of and other such reasons. As a whole the series justifies people treating Link like he's not a hero in that, in real life, [[RealityEnsues if you saw a kid come up to you in Robin Hood's clothes, would you believe that they're the reincarnation of Robin Hood?]]

** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening'', a pair of boys playing catch will give you tips on what to do in the game, followed by "I don't know what that means, I'm just a kid".

* ''VideoGame/MegaMan8'': Tengu Man looks down (literally) on our hero and says, "It's just a kid. Don't make me laugh." in some instances in the English releases.

** If playing as X in ''VideoGame/MegaManX 4'', Frost Walrus says this pre-battle: "They sent a kid like you after me? I promise to end this quickly". If playing as Zero, he says: "What's that blonde kid up to?! I don't have time for you junior!" This is despite them being designed to look and act like they are around 20 years old.
** Also from the metaseries is Hope Stelar of ''VideoGame/MegaManStarForce'', where she calls her own son (and the hero of the game) "Just A Boy" in the third game.
** In ''VideoGame/MegaManZX Advent'', Atlas, the Mega ([[ViewerGenderConfusion Wo]])Man Model F, tells young Thetis, Mega Man Model L and fellow member of a QuirkyMinibossSquad that he's just a kid like TheHero Grey/Ashe, the new Mega Man Model A and wonders why so many kids were chosen to be [[TheChosenOne Biomatches]] [[note]]The [[TransformationTrinket Biometals]] are the {{Legacy Character}}s of [[VideoGame/MegaManX X, Zero]], [[VideoGame/MegaManZero X's Four Guardians, and Dr. Weil]], FYI.[[/note]] Slightly irked, Thetis is quick to mention that as a teenager, there isn't much of a gap between them age-wise.
* NES ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden'' (For NES): Ryu Hayabusa mistakes MIB agent Irene Lew as "Just a girl. Get out of here." He is promptly shot and captured.

* ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2''. Eggman taunts Tails: "You're just a kid. You couldn't beat me in a hundred years!" This was extremely stupid of Eggman seeing that Tails may have managed to see him off once before in that story and actually managed to defeat him decisively when he was attacking station square in the previous game in a head to head... [[PintSizedPowerhouse without his mecha.]] Whether Eggman ends up eating his words depends on whether you're playing the hero or dark story.

* ''Videogame/{{Earthbound}}''

* One of the motivating factors behind [[spoiler: Naoto's]] shadow in ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}''.
** Also seen in the Good Ending when [[spoiler: Adachi]] taunts the team by saying things along the lines of "Students should stay home and study." (As opposed to, you know, bringing him to justice.)

* In ''VideoGame/StarFox Assault'', Wolf continually calls Fox a "pup". [[AllThereInTheManual Nowhere do they explain]] they have retconned Wolf's age to be 6 years older than Fox.

* A very overdone excuse in ''VideoGame/PokemonSuperMysteryDungeon'' that keeps the main characters from getting full approval of doing ''anything'' remotely dangerous. No matter if they achieved three suicidal missions with no casualties, [[spoiler:evolved using magical trinkets all the way to their late stages]], being the only ones left for support, the adults will ''continuously'' dismiss them unless they ''are'' with an adult.
** Makes it incredibly ironic when it is revealed that [[spoiler:you are playing as a hero from 1000 years ago and your partner is the reincarnation of Mew, and the two of you are the only ones who can save the entire world]]
* This is a serious resentment of Rahim in ''VideoGame/DyingLight'' (so much so that he angrily snaps when people tell him not to do something dangerous because people see him as a kid) as he feels that Brecken (leader of the Tower), Jade (Older sister) and Crane (Undercover GRE Agent / '[[SecretIdentity tourist]]') don't think he has what it takes to go out into the field as a runner. However, they all have a good reason (Brecken's a professional parkour teacher and sees that he doesn't have the skill, Jade doesn't want to see him killed because he's the last family she has since the outbreak and all of them believe that his plan to destroy a [[OurZombiesAreDifferent Volatile]] nest is a bad idea. [[spoiler: Unfortunately for Rahim, they were right - when he disobeys everyone's orders and tries to destroy the nest himself, he gets another runner killed with his incompetence and gets [[ZombieInfectee infected]] then refuses to tell Crane who's come to rescue him, then ending with Rahim being [[MercyKill killed]] by Crane. His attempt to [[SubvertedTrope subvert]] this trope only [[DoubleSubverted ends up proving everyone right]].]]

** ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'': Gilgamesh to Shirou, who by then has the perfect counter-ability (Avalon or [[FieldOfBlades Unlimited Blade Works]], [[AlternateContinuity depending]])

'''Tenzin:''' Kai! What does he know about when you should get tattoos? The answer is "no"! You're just a little girl.
'''Jinora:''' [[CallingTheOldManOut I'm not a little girl anymore. I can airbend just as well as you. I know everything about our culture and history, and I have a stronger connection with the spirits that you ever will. Lead your own class!]]

* A theme on ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'': the team initially formed when the original sidekicks felt their mentors weren't giving them as much respect as they deserved. The Justice League agreed to accommodate them (albeit with issues continued to be hammered out throughout the first season). And of course, it sometimes comes up with villains too; [[BlowYouAway Mister Twister]] actually claims to be disturbed to fight children and asks if they have any adult supervision.

** The trope is then used word for word in the season five finale. [[spoiler:Michael]] has become a stick-up boy in Omar's mould, and when he holds up [[spoiler:Marlo's "bank"]] is told "Shit, you just a boy!"; [[[AC:blam]]] "And that's [[OnlyAFleshWound just your knee.]]"

* Apparently this runs in familes, as Aang's granddaughter Jinora goes through this in ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra''. Tenzin virtually says this verbatium when she asks about whether she is ready for her tatoos.

[[folder:Myths & Religion]]

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]

* ''[[ComicBook/SpiderMan The Amazing Spider-Man]]'': Spidey gets unmasked by Dr. Octopus in an early issue, but thanks to Peter Parker's youth (and Spidey's poor performance in the proceeding fight) [[YourCostumeNeedsWork neither Ock nor the assembled crowd believe Parker is really Spidey]], assuming that Peter just donned a Spider-Man costume to play the hero. Years later, when Spidey unmasks on national TV, Doc Ock goes on a rampage fueled by the humiliation of being constantly beat by a high-schooler.
** Subverted a lot in ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderman'', where Spiderman is normally a well-respected threat to the bad guys until he begins to quip. His talking points normally date him (making pop-culture references or naïve assumptions), prompting the bad guy to reply along the lines of "Wait, how old are you?"

* This trope is why Literature/AlexRider is so useful to MI6--people see him and don't suspect that a fourteen-year-old boy is [[TeenSuperSpy an experienced intelligence operative]] capable of doing ''a lot'' of damage should he so choose. This is a good portion of why his bringing down two of Scorpia's plans in less than a year was so damaging for them--the biggest terrorist organization in the world, beaten ''twice'' by a ''{{teen|SuperSpy}}ager''.

* The frequently-underestimated eleven-year-old chemistry genius and proto-goth-chick Flavia de Luce solves mysteries in books like ''The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie'' and ''The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag''. In the latter, the constabulary's infuriated that she is always better informed than they are and put it down to the fact that, as a kid, people open up to her. (The fact is, she's also smarter than they are.)

--->'''Dawn:''' [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments It's like a meat party in my mouth]]. ''(pause)'' [[ThatCameOutWrong Okay, I'm just a kid and even I know that sounded wrong]].

* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Unlimited'': Spoofed when Flash laments the rest of the League's reluctance to take him seriously... while playing Rock'em Sock'em Robots. It's also played straight in the season finale when Flash answers [[FanNickname Luthorac's/Brainthor's]] taunt of "Are you going to fight me, ''boy?''" by [[LetsGetDangerous deciding to get dangerous for once.]] [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome Epically.]]

* Mission Vao in ''KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' is constantly annoyed this trope, to the point of it being a BerserkButton. She's just fourteen and sounds like a typical teenager, except for the part that when she demands to be taken seriously, she has good reason. You can avert actually treating her like this, though.

Common theme running through initial seasons of shows featuring a KidHero. The young hero meets a series of [[NotNowKiddo dismissive]] characters who assume ineptness because (wait for it) -- [[TitleDrop "You're just a kid."]] The dismissive characters can be good or bad, but will meet their comeuppance by the end of the episode (or the season, if it's a multi-episode arc).

!!Examples

[[folder:Comics]]

[[folder:Fan Fics]]

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

* In the 1998 movie Recoil, when Morgan realizes that the robber they gunned down wasn't an typical robber (who pretends to be one).

-->'''Dawn:''' [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments It's like a meat party in my mouth]]. ''(pause)'' [[ThatCameOutWrong Okay, I'm just a kid and even I know that sounded wrong]].

* ''Series/{{Sliders}}'': Quinn Mallory.
* ''Series/TheWire'': Omar Little, one of the lead characters, dismisses many young players in the Baltimore drug trade because they're "just kids", including using the phrase exactly to describe Michael, who is meeting with Marlo, in late season four. One such child, [[spoiler:Kenard]], is looked at by a Baltimore police officer as an example of how Omar's influence and brazen antics have spread to young, impressionable children, who view him as a hero. Near the end of the series, [[spoiler:Omar is unexpectedly gunned down by Kenard, and had dismissed the child as a threat when he walked into the store]].
** The trope is then used word for word in the season five finale. [[spoiler:Michael]] has become a stick-up boy in Omar's mould, and when he holds up [[spoiler:Marlo's "bank"]] is told "Shit, you just a boy!"; [[[AC:blam]]] "And that's [[OnlyAFleshWound just your knee.]]"

* On ''Series/DiagnosisMurder'', Dr. Jesse Travis got this from at least one elderly patient.
* In Season 2 of ''Series/{{The 100}}'', it takes a while for Abby to realize that, although she's both Clarke's mother and Chancellor of the Ark survivors, Clarke is actually doing a better job at forging alliances and planning a war than she is.
-->'''Abby:''' She's just a kid.\\
'''Raven:''' She stopped being a kid the day you sent her down here to die.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Unlimited'': Spoofed when Flash laments the rest of the League's reluctance to take him seriously... while playing Rock'em Sock'em Robots. It's also played straight in the season finale when Flash answers [[FanNickname Luthorac's/Brainthor's]] taunt of "Are you going to fight me, ''boy?''" by [[LetsGetDangerous deciding to get dangerous for once.]] [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome Epically.]]
* WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom gets this a few times; twice from Vlad, once from Clockwork, although the latter is justified since he was trying to explain (in short) the nature of time to someone who's probably barely passing pre-algebra.

* A huge theme of ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' is the fact they ''are'' just kids, yet still manage to do so many bizarre and amazing things; this is the main reason that their mother [[RefugeInAudacity never believes Candace]] when [[CassandraTruth she tries to bust them]].
-->'''Adult:''' [[MadLibsCatchPhrase Aren't you a little young to be [insert whatever Phineas and Ferb are doing]?]]\\
'''Phineas:''' [[BluntYes Yes]], [[RunningGag yes I am.]]
** Parodied when Candace once asks the boys (renowned for making bizarre inventions) why they couldn't just create some way of fixing their rocket ship without necessitating a space walk. The boys simply stare at her for a moment before Ferb comments, "Candace, we ''are'' just kids."

* This trope is a more or less constant worry for Ma-Ti of ''WesternAnimation/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteers''. True, except for Gi they're all "kids", but Ma-Ti has the added disadvantage of just being ''twelve'' (aside of, well, the WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway deal).
** Which was PlayedForLaughs in [[Website/ThatGuyWithTheGlasses Linking Up with Linkara's]] [[TheStinger Stinger]], [[spoiler:where WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick and WebVideo/MarzGurl pretended to have slept with (a presumably aged up) Ma-Ti.]]
-->"I'm only fourteen!"
* ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingChanAndTheChanClan'': "You're not old enough, Scooter."
* ''Literature/MaxAndRuby'': The character Max, despite being about four and not being capable of saying more than a few words at once, shows himself to be quite capable of either outwitting his older sister or helping her to get what she wants.
* Underestimating a KidHero? How about a kid VILLAIN? [[BrainyBaby Stewie]], from ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'', shows signs of developing into a DiabolicalMastermind, yet his parents tend not to take him seriously. For example, he likes to read books like ''Literature/ThePrince'' and ''Literature/{{The Art of War|SunTzu}}'', yet his mother interrupts him telling him those books are not for toddlers and he should be watching ''Series/{{Teletubbies}}'' instead. (Of course, he somewhat likes the show, but still...)
* Averted in ''WesternAnimation/DragonBooster'', where not only are the main cast all 16 or under (Moordryd being debatably 17), no one even mentions that Artha's 10 year old brother is going on the adventures with the group. Possibly explained by the only adults we see being Artha and Moordryd's fathers, and officials that are presumably upper class, but it's strange to only see adults in situations that simply could not be done by children (security heads and teachers), and no one thinks it's strange for the Down City racers to be primarily under 20.
** Of course, on the flip side, the Down City races are the lowest ranked races, and so of course the competitors would be younger. If we had seen some higher-ranked racers, they might have been adults who might even have taunted the heroes for being "just kids"
** Which still doesn't excuse no one being shocked that Lance (the above mentioned 10 year old) went on all the missions with Artha's team and the only person to even say "he's just a little kid" was Artha's AntiVillain rival Moordryd, and even then only after Lance was attacked. Other than that, people only refer to him as short. Clearly the standards are different in Dragon City.
* A theme on ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice;'' the team initially formed when the original sidekicks felt their mentors weren't giving them as much respect as they deserved. The Justice League agreed to accommodate them (albeit with issues continued to be hammered out throughout the first season). And of course, it sometimes comes up with villains too; [[BlowYouAway Mister Twister]] actually claims to be disturbed to fight children and asks if they have any adult supervision.
** It also comes up when the Justice League discovers that one of their own members, [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]], is [[OlderAlterEgo actually only ten]], leading to a vote about whether or not to keep him on. [[spoiler:They do]].

* In "Mama Peanut" from ''WesternAnimation/PBAndJOtter'', Peanut, Munchy and Flick actually [[InvokedTrope invoke]] it when a baby turtle keeps following Peanut around calling him his "mommy." They sing a song about how they're all just kids. Peanut eventually goes off on the little turtle, only to then feel guilty. He apologizes and tells him that though he can't be his mommy, he can be his friend. At the end of the episode, Peanut asks his parents if it's okay for him to keep having fun being a kid as he grows bigger. They agree and a reprise of the song is performed.
* In a ''WesternAnimation/TheNewScoobyDooMovies'' episode that guest starred ''WesternAnimation/TheHarlemGlobetrotters'', the two groups decided to play basketball for fun. The Globetrotters said they would go easy on Mystery Inc since they're only kids. They change their minds when Scooby easily gets the ball and scores a basket. "Looks like these kids got tricks of their own..."
* [[KidHero Ezra Bridger]] from ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'' gets this from time to time, most notably in "Stealth Strike," when he's underestimated by both Commander Sato and Admiral Titus. (Agent Kallus, on the other hand, warns Titus not to underestimate Ezra, [[CassandraTruth but his warnings go unheeded]].) Ezra proves himself by escaping capture and helping to rescue Sato.

[[folder:RealLife]]

* ''[[SpiderMan The Amazing Spider-Man]]'': Spidey gets unmasked by Dr. Octopus in an early issue, but thanks to Peter Parker's youth (and Spidey's poor performance in the proceeding fight) [[YourCostumeNeedsWork neither Ock nor the assembled crowd believe Parker is really Spidey]], assuming that Peter just donned a Spider-Man costume to play the hero. Years later, when Spidey unmasks on national TV, Doc Ock goes on a rampage fueled by the humiliation of being constantly beat by a high-schooler.

* [[Literature/TheHobbit Thorin Oakenshield]] was equivalent in age to a fourth or fifth grader when he fought at Nanduhirion and earned his nickname. [[LordOfTheRings Dáin Ironfoot]] was even younger at that battle, where he slew an orc-chieftan. And not just any orc chieftain but ''Public Enemy Number Two[[note]]Smaug was Public Enemy Number One at the time.[[/note]] Azog''!

* The titular protagonist of ''Literature/VarjakPaw' gets this treatment from his older family members. They patronize him and look down upon him for being a "weird" kitten who doesn't look or act like a Mesopotamian Blue should. His BigBrotherBully Julius snidely says that he'll always be a kitten to his family.

* ''Anime/SaberRiderAndTheStarSheriffs'': Fireball is often the butt of jokes because he's 18 years old and his teammates are all over the age of twenty. 24-years-old Colt is the one who treats him like a child the most.

* The title character from ''Manga/KingOfBanditJing'' is also a victim of this; you'd think by now the bad guys would learn that the infamous "Bandit King" is no more than 16 years old.
** His age is somewhat debatable - in the manga, due to the art style, he looks ''younger'', at least in the [[ArtEvolution beginning]].

* ''Anime/GundamWing''. Noin is bitter at having been defeated by "just a kid". To which Wufei retorts "You saw I was a kid and you underestimated me."
** Of course, he 'just a woman'ed her.

** Iris has a rather odd habit of calling [[TheHero Ash]] a kid whenever he says something she doesn't like or does something stupid...[[HypocriticalHumor even though ''she's'' a kid herself!]]
** Earlier episodes has Misty believing this about Ash, having little to no respect for the starting trainer. When he does prove himself later on, however, her attitude towards him changes.

* This was the main plot of ''WesternAnimation/TheSpongebobSquarepantsMovie''. [=SpongeBob=] got this from nearly everyone in the movie as a reason he's not capable of doing what he sets out to do. Of course, he does prove himself.