Every kid wishes to be an adult. Do you remember playing houses as a child and pretending to be a grown-up like your parents? Did you imagine you were a doctor, a soldier or a teacher? At that time, anything seemed more exciting than being young.

    But now as grown-ups, some adults find they cannot leave childhood behind. They become "kidults (kid+adult)". Being a kidult has become a lifestyle choice among young people across Asia. Some kidults collect toys they once played with. Hello Kitty, Garfield, and Snoopy have many adult fans around the world. It is usual to see a 20-something woman with a big, Garfield-shaped cushion on her sofa or a Hello Kitty mobile phone accessory (饰物). Other kidults still enjoy children's stories and fairy tales. For example, even an edition of the Harry Potter novels with an adult cover came out in Britain. That way, no one else on the subway will know that an adult is actually reading a children's book!

    "Kidults Can be like vitamins to society. Adults who value their childhood and hold on to pure, childlike emotion (情感) may be needed in such a rough and dry society," said a professor in a Korean university. He added that kidult culture might fill the generation gap between adults and kids. It could give children and their parents books, movies, and cartoon shows to enjoy together.

    Tim Greenhalgh, a professor in London explained that some kidults just refuse to grow up. They cling to (舍不得放弃) childhood because life in a busy and stressful city frightens them. Kidults would like to forget their age and openly show their fear of society and adulthood.

    "So, they look for an escape (逃离) from the increasingly complex and stressful lives that are hard to deal with," Greenhalgh said.