Children generate and process information from their surroundings. In families, parents and elders are the primary components of children’s learning environment, meaning everything the latter utters is processed by the child. Chances of a child absorbing a statement that will remain in their heads until adulthood are significantly high, suggesting that parents and the elders should be mindful of their address to children. Besides, children have very sharp longer-term memories, and most of the things they learn can stick with them to adulthood. In “Gorilla, My Love” by Toni Cade Bambara, for instance, the protagonist becomes furious after learning that grownups treat children in an ‘undeserving’ way. She indicates that “grownups figure they can treat you just anyhow. Which burns me up.” Parents should avoid making remarks that are likely to yield defiance from children when they grow up by telling them the truth, no matter how brutal. There is always a simpler way of telling them the truth without adversely affecting their emotions. An adult’s word to a child bears a great deal of meaning. Therefore, the parents and elders should avoid “just teasin” kids because the latter digests the words as truth.
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