A simple comparison between As vs When

Here's a sentence i have come across online "As kids we didn't complain about being poor".This is the sentence. Actually my question is why the writer used "as kids" in the sentence, have the writer used it to mean "when we were kids"?

"As kids we didn't complain about being poor".

"When we were kids, we didn't complain about being poor".

Are both of the sentences expressing the same meaning??

Solution 1:

CED, under as, when and while, has

from English Grammar Today

As, when and while are conjunctions. In some uses as, when and while can mean the same, but they can also have slightly different meanings. We use them to introduce subordinate clauses.

though this isn't a full explanation (although I'd argue that subject/verb deletion from an original like 'when we were kids,' ... to 'when kids,' ... licenses the 'conjunction' label here).

On the other hand, ODO looks at the surface structure here:

as preposition ...

2 During the time of being (the thing specified)

‘he had often been ill as a child’

In 'As managing director, I have to make tough decisions', 'as' means 'in my role / capacity as' or 'Because I am'. This usage undoubtedly adds at least a nuance to the meaning of 'as' in 'As kids we didn't complain about being poor', but I'd say that the purely temporal 'When we were kids ...' is a closer paraphrase.