It does that b/c it's a Keyword type field, and you can't change that.

My suggestion would be to delete it and create a new "Children" field,
making sure it's of type "Text", and use that.

"Jim B" wrote:

I have just typed in my friend's children's names into the Outlook Children
field. I did it in age order, with commas between to indicate that a space
is just a link to a second name. When I tabbed to the next field they were
in alphabetical order!
What damn good is that?
Why does MS think that is a sensible way to sort, and why has it changed
what I typed in.
How can I get it to cease and desist?
Its bad enough that the Children field is so well hidden.