'''Basic Trope''': Children do disturbing grown-up things.
* '''Straight''':
** Ten-year-old Timmy smokes and drinks.
** Fifteen-year-old Tim is a juvenile {{delinquent|s}} who routinely cuts class, shoplifts, and fights with other delinquents.
* '''Exaggerated''':
** Five-year-old Timmy smokes, drinks, gets high, [[DirtyKid has a lot of sex]], and kills people.
** Five-year-old Timmy sells drugs, vandalizes public property, drives a car ([[DrivesLikeCrazy with a habit of speeding in residential areas]]) a full decade before he's even eligible to apply for a learner's permit, shoplifts, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and exhibits controversial art]].
** [[BrainyBaby One-year-old]] [[EnfantTerrible Timmy]] [[ChildSoldiers is a]] [[PsychoForHire mercenary]] [[ChildSoldiers working for]] [[BigBad Emperor Evulz]].
** Fifteen-year-old Tim is a SerialKiller.
* '''Logical Extreme''': Timmy is a fetus who leads a planet that meant to invade other planets, not only that, but Timmy himself is also an EvilGod power enough to be capable enough to cause a ''ApocalypseHow/ClassZ'' apocalypse.
* '''Downplayed''':
** Thirteen-year-old Tim sometimes plays M-rated games or watches R-rated movies, but is otherwise a well-adjusted child.
** Timmy acts normal, but keeps a level head in dangerous situations better than his own parents, especially doing things that would typically creep out other children with no problem.
** Timmy can understand taboo concepts like rape or murder well, but not enough to keep his parents concerned.
** Fifteen-year-old Tim is a SirSwearsALot, but otherwise kind and respectful.
** Fifteen-year-old Tim occasionally drinks alcohol after school but doesn't go further than that.
** Seventeen-year-old Tim is racist and would FlipTheBird non-stop, but he means well when it comes to Academics, and, Tim himself is not as bad as he seems.
* '''Justified''': Timmy [[ParentalObliviousness has little to no parental supervision]], or his parents and/or authority figures are [[AbusiveParents toxic]] [[AdultsAreUseless people]] [[AntiRoleModel themselves]].
* '''Inverted''':
** Timmy respects authority and does things expected of his age, like playing E-rated video games and collecting action figures.
** Tim is a full-grown ManChild who has never used drugs, drank, smoked, or engaged in any sexual activity or crime.
** Timmy is ten, but [[KiddieKid still loves to watch preschool shows and play with stuffed animals]].
** AdorablyPrecociousChild: Young children do grown-up things, but it's treated as cute/wholesome.
* '''Subverted''':
** A rumor goes around that Timmy smokes and drinks. But it's just that, a rumor.
** An onlooker thinks that Timmy is a twelve-to-fourteen-year-old smoker, but he's actually way [[OlderThanTheyLook older than he looks]].
* '''Double Subverted''':
** ...He does routinely get high, though.
** Even though Timmy is [[OlderThanTheyLook older than he looks]], he's very young for his species.
* '''Parodied''':
** As soon as Timmy is delivered, he drinks a bottle of vodka and delivers a curse-filled rant about how the preschool's coat rack is broken because it doesn't stamp his timecard when he clocks in.
** Timmy's parents read his ListOfTransgressions to him every night as if it were a bedtime story.
** A judge reads Timmy's ListOfTransgressions to him. He [[DissonantSerenity looks to be almost enjoying himself]] through the judge's recitation of his drug dealing, vandalism, illicit driving, speeding, shoplifting, but [[ITakeOffenseToThatLastOne loses it]] when the judge mentions the art.
** Timmy doing typically adult things like stamping a timecard, drinking coffee in the morning, wearing a suit and tie, and watching Monday night football with his friends is treated like this. Not disturbing adult things, just comically mundane adult things.
* '''Averted''':
** There are no child characters.
** Tim occasionally talks back to his parents or teachers, but that's perfectly normal, if unpleasant, child or teen behavior.
** Timmy is a ChildProdigy who neither engages in adult nor childlike behavior.
** Timmy exemplifies the ChildrenAreInnocent trope.
* '''Enforced''': The producers demand a VerySpecialEpisode about underage drug use.
* '''Lampshaded''': "Seriously? A ten-year-old stole your car?"
* '''Invoked''': Timmy, seeing his lack of authority figures, decides to light up because no one is there to stop him.
* '''Exploited''': Bob, seeing Timmy's preference for smoking and drinking, offers to set him up in exchange for...[[{{Squick}} certain favors]].
* '''Defied''':
** Timmy is offered a cigarette. He says no.
** Timmy's parents put their feet down:
--->"[[FullNameUltimatum Timothy Vincent Troper!]] You are grounded until your behavior improves! And if it doesn't ... I'm sure your grandmother will be ''very'' disappointed to hear about what you've been up to!"
* '''Discussed''': "You know, Timmy, kids don't normally light up and down gin ever, never mind often."
* '''Conversed''': "I often find it worrying when [[MostWritersAreAdults kids on TV act much older than they really are]]. It's cute when they're [[AdorablyPrecociousChild using big words they don't necessarily understand]], but when they do things like swear, use drugs, have sex, and commit crimes, there I'm going to draw a [[PunctuatedForEmphasis thick. Red. Line.]]"
* '''Deconstructed''': Timmy faces a lot of unwanted physical consequences because his body is still too young to tolerate foreign substances or sexual activity. The adults who look after Timmy and/or take part in his criminal or sexual activities get into legal trouble themselves for "allowing" a minor to do these things.
* '''Reconstructed''': Timmy is MadeOfIron, so he doesn't suffer from having sex or consuming controlled substances. If he faces no harm, nobody will ever face sanction; such is the rationale.
* '''Implied''': Timmy acts like a regular, well-adjusted child or teenager on screen. Several adults compare him to a hardened criminal, but it is difficult to tell if they are joking or being serious.
* '''Played for Laughs''': Timmy is a toddler who murders other children [[CrossesTheLineTwice in an over-the-top exaggerated way that could never happen in real life.]]
* '''Played for Drama''':
** Timmy is a TroubledChild.
** Timmy acts this way because he's witnessed things that are HarmfulToMinors.
* '''Played for Horror''': Tim inflicts ColdBloodedTorture and CruelAndUnusualDeath[=s=] [[{{Sadist}} without even a hint of humanity to him]].
* '''Plotted a Good Waste''': Timmy is a NoCelebritiesWereHarmed version of an EnfantTerrible who troubled the creator at some point in their lives, and they created him to show that young kids aren't immune to doing bad things.
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Young man, you'd better extinguish that cigarette. What do you mean "fuck you"? That's it -- get back to TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior right now.
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