I was just meaning that children aren't always as 'grown up' as children portrayed in films and television programmes. Comedies etc rely on the child actors portraying 'smart' kids for the laughs etc, and dramas wouldn't portray normal life which can be quite pedestrian for television, films etc.
Children are usually smart, but the world is dirty and that part of life tends be grounded more on "life experience" than intelligence.
Things like broken hearts, bullying, bad grades, failures as a teen or youth, argument, and even fights adds to our life experiences and helps to shape our understanding of how we see the world and other humans. Exposure to news also help. Much of what I knew about the world and humans as a teen came from:
1. Public Radio
2. Family discussions about people
3. Me being shy and watching the behavior of other teens. Because I was shy I paid close attention to what other people did, how they respond, and what was considered cool or not cool. I also listened to other people's problems which gave me some insight on what other people experienced. This was sort of a safe way to learn from the decision that other people made.
I learned a lot about the world that way. I wasn't too smart in the books and I struggled to make good grades, but when it came to people, one could say "I've heard and seen it before." I've seen how drugs and alcohol messed up other people's lives so I knew that I wasn't going to make those same mistakes or at the very least try not to make them.
Many youth hear some of these same stories where other's messed up, but for whatever reason, some students have the mind set that "It's not going to happen to them." That they are "different" and that they can do the same thing action and not fall in the same hole. We see this type of behavior even in adults.
I think when it comes to children, how do we go from telling them that they are "special and unique" to " you aren't special nor unique" and if you do the same action, it will result in the same mistake, and a similar out come. I don't know how well I've raised my son in this area, but I have often said to him, "That people think they are special and that bad things won't happen to them like it happened to someone else, and that's where they make the mistake and learn the hard way." People say don't take drugs (illegal drugs) and people still do it, even though we always see how it turns out. I showed him some before and after meth pictures and told them that all of those people made the same mistake, simply because they thought it wouldn't and couldn't happen to them. I often try to point out this same mentality whenever I can point out new examples of it.
My theory that if children can understand that they aren't invulnerable in this context then they can avoid the mistakes that others have made. They can kind of use the failings of others to help avoid mistakes that they otherwise would have. I think bullying, stalking, and the Post of the guy who gets off on stalking people is a good start for "There are sick people out there, and it's people like that who would try to harm you." I know it's easier said than done, but having a set of tools that they can depend on will help them to better navigate the world.