Savoring childhood

In Tustin, 7-year-old Hannah Thorne, center, said she does not want to grow older. “I like being a kid,” she explains. “You get to do more things.”  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Heather Thome and her daughter Hannah, 7, play at their Tustin home. A recent Nickelodeon survey found that 85% of kids ages 8 to 14 like being their age, up from high numbers at the turn of the millennium.   (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Karen Mejia watches her twin girls Anais and Keila, 11, and son Andres, 13, play at Griffith Park. Mejia said she embraces “nonviolent parenting” -- talking through issues with her kids, not using rewards or punishments and not spanking.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Karen Mejia said her 11-year-old daughters, right, are vegetarian and her son, 13, decided to grow his hair long. Her parents probably wouldn’t have let their children do those, she said.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Karen Mejia with her 11-year-old twin girls -- Keila, left, and Anais -- and son Andres, 13. “I was never allowed to talk to my parents the way my children are able to talk to me,” she said. But she doesn’t see that as a bad thing: “We treat our children as equals.”  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)