Young children have an understanding of things and yet people are always fitting them into boxes. I get that children can be delicate and fragile beings and saying even the most what may be perceived, to the one having a conversation with them, as not a touchy subject can promote fear, distance, trauma and other emotions for the child. Children like to tell themselves repeatedly in their minds that they are ready to hear or that they can handle something adult-like, new, or commonly something that their friends know about and that they would love to partake of it as well. The phrase I seem to hear a lot with kids is “I’m not a baby…”, and when people mention their age as a weakness it causes discomfort and such that it appears the other is claiming that they are unreliable. Some children wish desperately to grow up fast beyond their years and know as much as possible and therefore be an adult at the same rate, which isn’t a bad thing per se, yet this can dwindle their naivety as a child and with it the fun usually carefree moments. Then of course, there are the children who don’t want to grow up at all; enjoying the pampering, being spoiled, and not yet ready to think about their futures. Should children be able to hear thing too advanced for their age or should their little ears not be tainted about the possibly evil or unknown of the world?
Children like everyone else are curious beings so it’s not weird for them to want to learn about certain things; so is there a moment in their lives where not using a euphemism is taking it too far? The type of parents a child has is usually an indicator of the pace the child wants to be educated on the subject of the mysterious and questions they have about life. There are the overprotective parents who will shield their child until they believe their child is ready and then there are what society would deem reckless parents who haven’t a clue of what their child knows about nor teaches them by walking them hand in hand through everything. In between those parents are several variations such as parents who give their child space yet also wish to know what’s going on and several others. Other factors are what the parents themselves know and if they are experienced enough to even answer the question(s) their child asks. Euphemisms are like armor (heavily protected) armor built to encase the child in not a lie but an alternate remedy so that the child won’t get immensely hurt. Like a sidestep in that specific moment of life to soften and dilute the impact of the words said. Words can be a dangerous thing, so is it really the right answer to continuously trick a child or should they have the right to know?
I don’t have kids yet so I have no idea how to answer these questions myself, but I guess it all depends on the age of the child. Maturity levels are also a huge basis on whether the child would be mentally prepared. Another thing to consider is some parents or people hold the belief that their child or children they are associated with shouldn’t be weak and others have never even thought of the possibility that their children could be stronger than them and surpass them in strength. Why does the level of toughness a child have even matter? The mentality that a child can remain the way they are happens but there are also other who oppose this idea and have a pre-determined idea of how the child is supposed or going to be like as they grow up. The mark they make as individuals who are going to gradually become adults and the realization that your parents may already have this misconception that you will be just like them or follow in the same footsteps and your generally older sibling but sometimes younger in the hopes that you’ll do just as good as them. Is this a subconscious thing to have mental plans for someone else that is not yourself?
Children and other individuals have strong minds but it should be the choice of the person if they are physically and mentally ready to view/hear/observe something abnormal or simply out of the norm for them. A person’s comfort zone and level of curiosity create these kind of situations in the first place. There is that saying when something tells you not to do something and it causes you to want to do it even more and that is the reverse psychology that will cause for one to ruin themselves or possibly fall in love with a new subject because they delved into something never before seen. The situation determines the need of stating the obvious or leaving a vague line of hints for a person to realize something, but the child or other people discovering the truth that you told them the truth but in a more blunt and subtle manner can always turn against you in the end. Trust and the likelihood that someone can handle the truth is what is necessary for scenarios such as filling someone’s mind with information. How will you go about communicating these feelings?
