[humanrebar]

Outside of "kid befriends a misunderstood robot/alien/monster", there aren't many science fiction stories starring kids. Even within that genre, there is a reliance of the stereotype of kids being naive and good-hearted. In real life, kids can have their own brand of good critical thinking skills or even skepticism.

I guess what I mean is that in popular culture generally, kids are usually foils, adorably precocious, MacGuffins, or otherwise one-dimensional. They are usually defined by their relationships with adults and their problems are usually solved by an adult, a deus ex machina, or by magic.

Ender's Game does a great job of portraying a wide range of behaviors, character traits, and emotions within a cast of intelligent primary-school-aged kids.