Realistic child characters

[Freemints30]

Here's the thing children are people with little life experience. I HATE kids that are written as completely innocent angels because from what I remember and my parents recounting their own childhood that's the biggest lie ever told. Alot of authors either fall into this or "they are all brats" which is very untrue as well(those are the more exceptions than the rule). Just think of a personality and now imagine how they act with little experience.

The background the child was raised in should also affects their personality and behavior. For example a child raise on a farm with no tv or internet should view the world through a different lens than one raised in the suburbs.(and I don't mean one would be humble and the other spoilt that's just stupid_)
I am currently trying to script of children 12-13 who range from happy and easy going to rebellious and wild.

[OttoGruenwald]

I turn to the venerable John Ford here.

Never work with children or animals. And never write them either.

[DiegoPalacios]

another important fact to consider when adding kids in a story, is that for lighthearted stories, it makes them more lighthearted and for dark stories, it makes them way darker. (specially if they suffer an horrible fate).

Because of this, they can work as an intensifier in tone. Which may or may not work depending on how dark or lighthearted is your story.

[Darth_Biomech]

I hadn't written any kids yet, but I think that it can be boiled down to few things... Just don't make children stupid. This was done oh so many times, I guess out of "logical" conclusion of "Ok so kids are tend to be inexperienced and prone to being naive... oh, I know, that means they're bloody morons! Let's make them extremely whiny too, they're always acting like that, right?"