Just a theory, no idea really.  Adults see more and notice more at one time.  This comes from experience and learning differences in people.  The downfall is that with more things to cue from there are more things to shroud or confuse a persons perspective.  With kids the younger they are the less of these traits they are likely to have learned to recognize.  A lot of the time if only focusing on head shape/size, hand size, voice, height it is easier to pick out.

Example of this might be if you had 100 pictures of just hands, or just feet, or just shoulders and the pictures left out all other cues it might be easier for an adult to pick out biological gender.  Kids, because of the lack of experience have more focus on the things they do know to look for.

This is all just a guess.  I am actually sort of curious how off base I might be on this.

Kids stare at me all the time. Not from anything gender related, but because of my hardware and oddly shaped face and ear. If I catch them staring I simply wink and let bygones be bygones.

Kids lack the filters adults do, and sometimes adults should remove some of those filters imho! Honesty should be a thing, but we hide behind masks.

Cheers ladies,
Lorenz

Or perhaps your Conan O' Brian ? At least thats what I see. LoriLorenz 

I don't know.  I suspect the thing about children being more likely to clock someone is largely a myth, actually.  Children are probably more likely to say something because they don't know any better.  But that doesn't necessarily mean that they are more likely to clock someone. 

Quote from: Jill F on March 25, 2015, 06:35:06 PM
Just because a kid is looking at you doesn't mean you're being clocked.  It could mean that they just think you're non-threatening and want to interact with you. 

That is so true. I remember about a month after I went full time, I was standing in line at a Panera Bread and a 6 year old girl, just kept starring at me. I though I was about to outed by a 6 year old. She says to me, "Wow your a tall lady!!!" I smiled back and said yes I am.

Fortunately I've never been clocked by a child that I know of.

Kids just...know things. It's freaky.

The OP never really said what they believed constituted being "clocked" by children. Or how young. If it's simply being stared at without an accompanying "mommy, why is that man in a dress" then there's no indication they've worked anything out. Anyway, kids categorise things in weird ways based on the only evidence to hand - for example, a neighbour's 8 year old daughter once presumed I was older than her father because I was taller than him (I wasn't older, it was based on the presumption that as you get older as a kid you grow taller, ergo really tall people must be quite old indeed!). It was an odd piece of logic but made me remember how I used to put 1 and 1 together to get 11... I mean, why not? When it comes to gender, it's one of the key differentiations children learn at an early age, including what is considered "correct" clothing, look and behaviour for men and women. Kids don't have a filter to stop them from asking embarrassing question out loud when things don't add up the way they think they should.

The group I worry most about is teenage girls (followed by worrying about groups of teenage boys). I about freeze up every time i run into a group of teenage girls. Tonight I went to the movie theater with a friend and ran smack dab into a group of teenage girls and somehow managed to escape their scrutiny 

Little kids don't seem to clock me for some reason.

Quote from: Cindi Jones on March 25, 2015, 08:47:59 PM
I suppose the thing to do is to stay away from them. Or, perhaps you could borrow a baby for a day and they'll think you are the mother.
Cindi

Happens all the time when kiddo spends weekend with me - luckily, she is too small to understand exactly what people are telling me, otherwise, she would be interrupting with statements "No, that's not my mom, that's my dad" (which would be... awkward). The first time was last year (I was not really passing around that time, btw) when random people who met us on the street congratulated me with Mother's Day (felt sort of affirming, yet wrong).
I have had mixed responses with kids, from asking my name or being called "aunty" to "Mommy, why he has a ponytail???" - to which I burst out in laughter and mom smiled back at me with apologising look.

NEVER HEARD OF THAT 

Kids are very observant.
I recall a funny Xmas with my daughter one year.
There were two presents under the tree with the same wrapping. One had a card "from Santa", the other had a card from me. In my furious state to wrap and not waste paper, of course I used wrapping paper multiple times.
To which my daughter, then 4 years old, said "Santa has the same wrapping paper as you!"

D'oh

I went to a work party with a handsome man... almost like a couple. The wife seen through me I believe... she was sweet to me. My boss uneasy because my date was a longterm worker of his... friends and he was married. My boss told him, "Why dont you sit with "my name"?" when we were sitting on the couches as in "wtf dude?"..... but neither of us responded, and he was so handsome that I didnt care what anyone thought. That month he was mine. My date had this look of total awe,  so it was ackward and awesome. Then a female coworker came in all disgusted like when she saw us.... and was irritated with him.  She later hinted that he was into me.... but I didnt care. Shes homophobic though.

I didnt say goodbye to my date though.... because I knew my image had to be maintained. Thr date held the door for me waiting for me to come in from the patio... but he had this look of utter frustration. My date invited me to his place, show me his room, and offer me to wear his shirt... I should had said yes.. but its been a long time now....

At this time.... I was trying to act like a man... but one coworker was like, "He is a man" like he was affirming my manhood as if it was in question. All.the straights guys like me though... one borderline flirted with me "lifting my hand up and looking at my wrist".. the gay guy was indifferent to me... lol its funny. I wasnt acting gay or trans... its like my inner energy. When Im like at my highest peak of this energy... straight men are like ... wowza Im confuse.

((THE REASON I POSTED THIS)) I soon left the party but as I left the party the boss daughter said to me ,"goodbye" with a smile. I then realize I was Bella Swan to her (okay maybe not exactly but I had that man spellbound that day). But she saw I was a girl... i think.   She was like 14.

My boss never mention it again... but he knows what Im really am.... but really he became standoff'ish to me. At first, like the 1st month of knowing me he was very friendly, but then it chilled down.

The only time children have referred to me it has always been, she or that lady. With adults unfortunately that is most certainly not the case so I guess my personal experience is quite the opposite of the assertion.

Kids see things for what they are, do they match Mum or Dad more... and they have not learned the more subtle things in life, like white lies, not hurting feelings... god bless them 

I have been on the end of that too 

L Katy

Hmmm,  I've never experienced that or even stopped to think about it till now.  I've been around children a lot in daycares, baby sitting, including raising my own from kinder to college and all his little friends growing up.  I'll have to stop and take more notice.   What I have seen is in my neighbor's dog who does not like men. A friend of mine just beginning transition was visiting and to me she is very passable.. but not to that dog. It went beserk on her. I guess her scent had not changed hormonally yet?

Quote from: Cindi Jones on March 25, 2015, 08:47:59 PM
I suppose the thing to do is to stay away from them. Or, perhaps you could borrow a baby for a day and they'll think you are the mother.

Cindi

My problem is my 4 year old son calls me DADDY very loudly in public... and I don't have the heart to tell him to stop. I do tell him "inside voice please!"

My daughter was only 5 when she asked why I went in the women's room with her. I told her that I was a girl now. I told them my name and that they could call me that. Instead, they both learned to call me MMMMM. That got my attention and it was fine. I didn't see them but once or twice a year and even at that sometimes only for a few minutes. I did get to take them on two fine camping adventures to national parks while they were young. On our way to Yellowstone, my son asked a couple of probing questions and I answered them frankly. Then he asked if we could talk about something else. I know that it disturbed him. I have no idea what my younger daughter thought. She would have been seven. Those are still treasured memories to me.

Cindi

Quote from: Jill F on March 25, 2015, 06:35:06 PM
Just because a kid is looking at you doesn't mean you're being clocked.  It could mean that they just think you're non-threatening and want to interact with you. 

This can't be overstated. If anything kids are probably more likely to gender you correctly as they're much more likely to base gender assumptions on social cues. As someone else said though they also have no filter.

I've never been clocked by children so far...after 25yrs living as a woman.

But I've been clocked several times by 'straight' men who, I think,  are bi or tv in drag having a 'TS dar'  similar to a gaydar.

Thing is: adolescent boys, grown up men have a strong sexuality and simply have another outlook than young children.

Quote from: Eva Marie on March 26, 2015, 01:46:53 AM
The group I worry most about is teenage girls (followed by worrying about groups of teenage boys). I about freeze up every time i run into a group of teenage girls. Tonight I went to the movie theater with a friend and ran smack dab into a group of teenage girls and somehow managed to escape their scrutiny 

Little kids don't seem to clock me for some reason.

Heh, I was like that too at first. I remember one day sitting on a bench in the mall, just drinking a coffee and texting. Nearby there were a couple teenage girls sitting on another bench. They were being loud and rowdy like teen girls are, giggling and practically shouting. I expected them to say something about me so I braced for it. But all I heard from them before they left was 'Okay c'mon let's leave this lady alone'. After that I was just like '....lady? Omg I'm old...' Lol. Now the only thing I worry about with teens is being perceived as middle-aged or something (I only just turned 29 but I look younger anyway). I guess it's the same way that I look at teens and think they look closer to kids than adults. Weird stuff. But anyway I've been called a 'MILF' by a few teenage boys... So being clocked is never a concern for me, just being considered 'old'.

Kids also used to freak me out because of this concept but since my voice caught up with the rest of me, I haven't been clocked at all by anyone. In fact I've had people tell me 'prove it' when I out myself because they can't believe it. Or I also get 'I would have never guessed you were trans' a lot. Being stealth, and passability in general, are very weird things. You spend so much time with the paranoia of not passing and bracing for comments and worst-case scenarios. But then when you pass... you just blend in. So then you gotta gradually shrug off that paranoia. Well mostly anyway. I live with people that don't know, so I do still get paranoid sometimes and have to make sure I'm tucked enough, but there are days I swear I could have a lil bulge going on down there and I'd still get away with it, lol. I think it's like a scale, and once you're past a certain point into the female range, you can get away with a lot. First impressions also matter though because you could have a lil upper lip shadow, but if someone has already made that initial determination of your gender, they'll likely ignore it rather than use it as a stepping-stone for further speculation. They'll give you the benefit of the doubt. But I guess if there is speculation in that initial identification, it opens the door for further speculation. I suppose kids are just less certain of things and might not make the determination as quickly.