Basic Trope: Fictional kids acting too old.
- Straight: Alice is nine, but she flirts with Bob, a boy in her class, can go anywhere she wants alone and knows as much about science as her adult friend Charles, an actual scientist.
- Exaggerated:
- Alice is three months old and has adult-level intelligence.
- All elementary schoolers in the cast not only have adult-level intelligence and maturity, but they also drive their own cars, smoke, drink, get high, watch R-rated movies, have sex with their classmates, and seriously think about marriage.
- Downplayed: Alice is smart for a nine-year-old and has been given privileges by her parents that allow her to walk around alone in certain places, but she doesn't do anything that a nine-year-old logically shouldn't be able to do.
- Justified:
- Alice was copying her parents' romantic lines on Bob as a joke, her parents let her roam around alone because they know that there is no danger (and Alice knows to be careful at places like roads), and Charles taught her about the science.
- Where Alice lives, elementary schoolers are considered old enough to do several "mature" things, such as go alone as they are taught to be careful with things and their belongings, and Puppy Love is encouraged as it can be used for relationship lesson and sex education, which is very useful when they grow older.
- Inverted:
- Subverted: Alice is seen crossing the road by herself, but is stopped by a cop, who asks for her age.
- Double Subverted: The cop seems to think nine is old enough to cross the road alone.
- Parodied: Everyone often forgets the fact that Alice is nine-years-old, even Alice herself too!
- Zig-Zagged:
- Alice experiences Puppy Love, walks around alone and knows as much about science as Charles, Bob is a perfectly normal-seeming nine-year-old, while Diane is in their class, but can't add two plus two.
- Alice has a Vague Age or Artistic Age, but is implied to be somewhere around the age of 9. She often acts this approximate age, but occasionally acts older (or sometimes younger) as well.
- Averted: Alice acts like a normal nine-year-old.
- Enforced:
- The writer can't remember being Alice's age but was asked to write a story about a nine-year-old, so they just winged it.
- Alice is an Escapist Character in the series for elementary schoolers, and the writer or the Executive Meddling doesn't want Alice to Older Than the Demographic and/or make the show too childish for older audiences, so they make Alice to act cool and mature for her age instead.
- Alice is a child protagonist in the show aim at adult and late teenagers.
- Preteen Alice is played by teenage actress. Some personality of the actress leak through into the character.
- Alice is originally sixteen-years-old in the novel, but she is undergone an Age Lift to nine-years-old in the live-action adaptation.
- Lampshaded: "How come we have school if we already know as much as the grown-ups?"
- Invoked: Alice tries to be like an adult.
- Exploited:
- Alice uses her knowledge and ability to go wherever she wants to her advantage.
- Alice uses her knowledge and ability to become the Class Representative Princess and The Leader of her class.
- Defied: Alice refuses to act too old.
- Discussed: "Alice is nine but she acts sixteen!"
- Conversed: "Why do all the kids in that show act like adults?"
- Played for Laughs: Alice is seen at a meeting in an office building.
- Implied:
- Bob is a normal acting child but is treated like he is mentally disabled.
- Alice has a Vague Age or Artistic Age, but her physical appearance is comparable with 9 years old despite she acts older.
- Deconstructed: Alice acts too mature for her age lead to her Troubling Unchildlike Behavior due to her Innocently Insensitive nature.
- Reconstructed: Alice's parents start realizing that their daughter is old enough to know about adult stuffs, and teach her how to deal with these things.
- Played For Laughs: Alice's mature act and speech are used as Running Gags.
- Played For Drama: It's a Crapsack World where children have to become Child Soldiers, Prostitutes, or somethings which are considered as too dark and too mature for their age.
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