Thinking about mediation in history of childhood - what about when children deliberately use adults to mediate their words? How do we think this through when handling sources?

I think it was @smnolas I heard talking about how children in her sociological studies sometimes wanted to share something upsetting, but deliberately went and fetched an adult to explain it. -

Children might find an adult a better person to deliver harsh words to another adult, and avoid delivering them directly. They might choose an adult who respects them, and will represent their version of events faithfully. Reciprocal trust -

Especially as children live in a complex nexus of power relationships, where they know some people have more power than others. They can choose adults who might amplify their concerns, and give them more weight in the ears of an unfamiliar adult -

I find it super interesting to think children using sociological surveys to particular ends - both immediate (like getting sympathy for a troubling experience), and more general (like getting it “out there” beyond immediate adults in the school that something happened).

Children instrumentalise adults; they leverage adult mediation. They use their social bonds and the respect and trust they have earned. We are actually all very socially conditioned by it, as negotiators between children and unknown adults. We do it very habitually.