While the crew of each Starfleet vessel are always the most compelling and fascinating characters in each Star Trek series, there are so many other characters that deserve praise. Most people mean the Garaks of the world, but in this case, it's the young ones that need some appreciation.
After all, in a galaxy of high drama and scientific intrigue, kids truly have a complicated existence ahead of them. Especially if they grew up in said space. They need a little more credit for all the put up with and the well-rounded adults they manage to grow into (most of them at least).
Charlie X
By far, Charlie X is the worst kid in Star Trek. At first, the Enterprise just thought they found a fascinating, brilliant young man, eager to please. However, it became very clear that he had developing powers and he had no self-control. The power quickly got to his head and instead of trying to impress Kirk and the others, he was taking the things he wanted by force.
While his people were right to take him back, it was sort of their fault in the first place for abandoning him with humans and expecting him to figure everything out. Charlie deserved a better upbringing, but it doesn't make him any less of a terrible child.
Miral Paris
Voyager fans didn't get to know Miral for very long. Her mother spent most of season 7 pregnant with her and didn't give birth until the final episode. And even adult Miral, who helped Janeway go back in time, was only seen on screen for a few minutes.
However, Miral played a very important role in her mother's personal growth. Some of B'Elanna's best episodes were ones where she tackled her Klingon heritage, and Miral, in particular, made her face her own fears. And, it's clear from the few minutes with adult Miral, that made her a much more accepting, well-rounded person.
Wesley Crusher
Lots of people struggle with Wesley. TNG leaned way too hard into him being a genius boy wonder, giving him privileges that it never felt like he earned. That didn't make Wesley a useless, always uninteresting character, though. His interactions with the traveler were always fascinating and Wesley's struggles in Starfleet Academy were surprisingly compelling.
To think this smart kid with so many expectations on him would still fail at school was an interesting perspective. The second the writers gave up making him perfect, he was a much better character, it just took too long for that.
Elizabeth Tucker
Elizabeth doesn't do much as a character, but what she represents was revolutionary. Until her, Vulcans and humans were too at odds to be very good friends, let alone lovers and parents. T'Pol and Trip Tucker's relationship changed the rules, and Elizabeth proved that the two species were compatible.
Her tragic passing was hard on her parents, particularly since they didn't plan for her and then lost her almost just as quickly. However, the fact she existed was a miracle and game-changer that deserves to be celebrated in Star Trek history.
Molly O'Brien
It's true that Molly doesn't do too much in TNG or DS9. However, she deserves credit for being a trooper the entire time. As long as fans watched her grow up, her life was complicated and unstable. She was born on a starship that regularly faced danger, then moved to one of the most tenuous hubs in the galaxy.
Her parents did everything they could to keep her safe and preserve their happy family, but it did mean that Molly moved back and forth from the station to the planet on and off for seven years. That's a lot for a young kid, sometimes going months without seeing her father, whether it was to pursue her mother's botany or protect her from terrorists or war.
Alexander Rozhenko
No one can blame Alexander for ending up resenting his father. Worf was an absent father, at best. He willingly shipped his son off to his parents and dumped him on other people just because he wasn't sure how to deal with him. Alexander just wanted to bond with his dad, and Worf reciprocated sometimes, but in the end he still failed.
It was impressive that Star Trek writers made there be repercussions for Worf's abandonment. Once Alexander became an adult, things were so tense between them and it was very deserved. He did his best as a sensitive kid who just wanted attention, but Worf just wasn't up to the task.
Ziyal
Dukat is, by far, one of the best villains of Star Trek. One reason he was so good was because the show was clever about humanizing him. He was his most empathetic when spending time with his long lost daughter, Ziyal. At first, he planned to end her life, so Cardassia would never find out. But when he met her, he loved her. He took her back to Cardassia and accepted her as his daughter, publicly.
Ziyal lived a complicated life, not accepted among Cardassians or Bajorans. However, she tried desperately to find positivity in it all, becoming a beautiful artist and friend of Major Kira and others on DS9. Her passing was truly tragic.
Naomi Wildman
As the lone child on Voyager for a very long time, Naomi was destined to be a mature, precocious young lady. However, she also was very playful and thoughtful. Around this time was when Star Trek started figuring out how to write kids in space. They didn't need to all be super-geniuses or act like adults, but they can have dreams, ambitions, interests, and emotional conflict just like anyone else.
Dreaming of being a Starfleet captain one day, Naomi was a breath of fresh excitement among the often-homesick crew. Also, she and Seven of Nine are adorable friends.
Jake Sisko
Having a Starfleet captain's son not want to join Starfleet was a great change of pace, and that's only one reason why Jake is great. He also was a realistic teen, who loved his dad but still felt compelled to find his own paths and rebel. His relationship with his father are one of the best parts of DS9; the way they interact is so loving, no matter how much they can conflict sometimes.
Jake can be annoying sometimes with his writing dreams, but the fact he has such a passion makes him a more realistic and relatable character. Even if his war journalism moments made him reckless at times, but what twenty-something isn't?
Icheb
Icheb was the boy wonder in space trope done right. One, Icheb has a great reason to be so smart. Not only were his people fantastic geneticists, but it's been proven that Borg assimilation changes parts of peoples' brains to be more efficient.
The combination of his wide-eyed confusion with everything and his excitement towards being a person again was great. Also, his bond with Seven of Nine was one of the most organic parts of her growth. While they botched her romance, her unique connection to a younger child dealing with the same things as she was made them both stronger characters.
This future Starfleet officer was compelling. He deserved a better life, but the Alpha quadrant isn't so kind to xB's.
Nog
Hands down, Nog is the best kid in Star Trek. He was the perfect example of a unique species embracing Starfleet ideals without abandoning or shirking their own culture. Him running huge gambits on resource trades for O'Brien is one of the best episodes ever. He just wants so badly to make the universe a better place, but he still wants to do that as a Ferengi. Nog starts out kinda lecherous and mischievous, but his friendship with Jake makes him a better person.
And to think, Sisko thought this future officer would make his son a worse person. In the end, Nog was the one who became an upstanding officer following in Sisko's footsteps. He deserves all the credit for his amazing character growth, which fans enjoyed every second of.