thinking of the children

A form of think of the children — An appeal to suspend rational consideration of an issue owing to its presumptive negative effects on the young and impressionable; usually in ironic or mocking parody of another's argumentum ad passiones or moral panic.

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Meanings

verb
  1. gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of think of the children
Cite this entry
APA

thinking of the children. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thinking%20of%20the%20children

MLA

“thinking of the children.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thinking%20of%20the%20children. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “thinking of the children,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thinking%20of%20the%20children.

Source: thinking of the children on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.