Parents and elders surrounding a child play a crucial role in shaping the behavior and perspective of the child towards issues as they grow up. The way the elders communicate with and around the children should promote and instill positive behavior in them by shaping and supporting them, particularly psychologically. Since it influences the child’s well-being and how they perceive their parents and other grownups that they encounter in their lives. Therefore, parents need to tell their children the truth irrespective of the message they are communicating since it would lead to the children trusting and respecting the elderly.
Parents have power over their children; they can control the children. However, while handling the children, it is critical to understand that the child is growing and what they are taught would shape them and even determine the kind of relationship they maintain with their families. For example, in the ‘Gorilla, My Love,’ hazel is disturbed by her uncle’s changing of names since she perceives it as an indication that her uncle has not been loyal to their familial relationship (Cornett, 2017). Highlighting that lying to children leads to them being cautious around their parents, and they tend to question whatever they tell them even if it is the truth since they fear that the parents might be lying to them. For example, hazel no longer trusts her uncle’s declaration of intentions to get married. Hence, she is left to question whether he will marry the woman he has shown them in a photo, indicating that telling children lies leads to them having trust issues, especially with the people who had lied to them.
Children implement what they are taught by the elders surrounding them, which is evidenced by hazel’s experience in the theater. She was taught that people should mean and implement what they say they will do; hence, she expects every person she comes across to act according to what they say. It indicates the relevance of parents telling children the truth and not lying to them since it is evident that children believe anything they are told, and they emulate the elders living with them. Consequently, if parents continuously lie to their children, it would lead to them developing a character of lying to others. Thus, the parents would be instilling bad moral values in the children by telling the truth.
Telling the children the truth is always critical since it helps them develop self-esteem. For example, hazel’s self-esteem is damaged by her uncle’s lie that he would marry her only to introduce a new woman he wants to settle in marriage with. Hazel feels betrayed, and her uncle belittles her worth, whom she perceives wants to replace her with a stranger (Waller‐Peterson, 2022, pp. 1-6). Therefore, telling the truth to the children helps them get used to it and build their esteem rather than having their strength and self-belief on lies.
In conclusion, although it is not always possible for the elders to tell the children the truth, especially on critical issues, the parents need to have a culture of telling their children the truth. Since it would help mold the children into being people who can be trusted as telling the truth leads to the children trusting their parents. Telling the truths by parents helps them strengthen thief relationships with their children, foster their self-esteem, and help in installing in them proper moral values.
