This gist indicates the betterment of the ".children" method over ".childNodes" method to call an element's child or children its further explained in the DOD article by Yasir Gaji

first-instance-2.js

let val; // initilizing alpha variable

const list = document.querySelector('ul.showcase'); // assigning sub variable "list" to the ul in the html collection

val = list.children; // HERE THE METHOD "children" IS ASSIGNED TO THE "list" VARIABLE TO GET IT'S CHILDREN

console.log(val); // calling the alpha variable