I work in a great industry. Not only does it not have a specific description and title, but I work with adults and kids. I work with specialists and non-specialists alike. This dichotomy of needs for working with science communication and science apprenticeship always keeps me on my toes on the best of days. On the worst I’m struggling to understand what’s going on and how to translate it to others.

When it comes to most cases I can find advice and tactics in various leadership and influence books. The problem always seems to be when the subject is a child. I’ve heard two philosophies regarding working with kids. To some they are little versions of their adults selves. To others they are only “half-baked” versions of what they could be.

It got me thinking: How do we approach this?

We work with kids of all ages every day at Insanitek. I want to make sure the mission and our methods are transparent. But to do that, I need to examine this very key structure.

To be honest, I’m going with my gut here and thinking out loud. I’m not a child psychologist. I never took classes in this topic and issue. My stance on this can and will change as I learn more. But for now, this is how we’re proceeding:

We are going to assume both concepts are true.

Looking around me at the other adults in my life, I don’t see how one is mutually exclusive of the other. Each individual is always growing, always experiencing new things, and always changing our responses to stimuli based on those experiments.

So, call them little adults, if you want. Or call us grown up children. I’ll continue to treat each individual as an individual regardless of age, skill set, and meet them where they are. The focus will be on growth with each individual as they are.

This is not the easy path.

I’m beginning to think I never take an easy path. Easy, in this case, would be noting an individual’s age and then having a system to teach and deal with problems built off of expectations. I can’t institute such nonsense after working with children that are astounding mature for their age and adults that are more immature than most teenagers. I’ve found that much of the way an individual behaves has nothing to do with age, but more of a holistic view of their life.

Getting to know people takes time, but I don’t feel the need to treat each person like a number just to get to the magical numbers everyone thinks makes Insanitek a success. Besides, we are fiscally a legit business in the eyes of the IRS, so meeting some imaginary benchmark, say 6 figures a year like all the business consultants flag at you, doesn’t figure into our business model.

Treating humans like humans does though.

This is the tough part. I don’t believe that children should be brainwashed and marketed to. I don’t believe they should have propaganda all around them to push a certain narrative. (That’s also why Insanitek doesn’t have much of a cohesive branding that graphic designers have to follow.)

I don’t believe that adults should be brainwashed and marketed to, either.

I do believe that everyone should be educated, be taught how to think and use logic in every circumstance. I’d like them to know what things are available to them for purchase, but I’d rather have them understand the hows and whys by DIY and building things themselves.

This individual-focused approach won’t make money.

Too many times have I talked to consultants that are all about the money. They would say that I owe it to them to convince them to buy things, even if it’s through the desire of their kids. “They don’t know what they need, and it’s your job to tell them what they need to buy and use.” “You’d be doing a disservice if you didn’t sell them things they need.” “You are the expert, not them. You know what they need, and it’s your job to convince them of that.”

Sure, but does that mean I have to treat kids like nothing more than wheedling annoy-a-trons that yell at their parents until they buy something for them?

I’ve taken an influence class where I get the impression that the instructor would tell me to ignore the children students and focus on up-selling to the parents. That seems so dishonest. Instead, what I do is show them how to use the resources and remind them of the things at their disposal should they want it.

Children will be part of that process because we are also showing them how to use all the resources. And, as we know, children will tell their parents they want a thing ─ or rather “need” things. My hope is  to provide things that will help the kids grow through all their phases and experiences of life.

With being able to serve and being able to treat people as people no matter the age and life experiences, I can’t see a reason why we wouldn’t work with kids as if they are both kids and mini-adults. To me it makes sense to work with people from a holistic point, not as a monetary one. It makes sense to treat each person with respect and meet them where they are and help them grow from there.