Young Adults: Children Know Things That Adults Ignore
They are just children, but they grow and mature faster than expected. Although their bodies may be small and still evolving, small adults live in them who know much more than we think they do. Children suffer and live the same experiences as adults do. They have been pressured to take on responsibilities that, at their age, should still not belong to them.
Many parents close their eyes to the problems their children may face. Or in other words, for the problems they have and which affect these young people. Their frustrations, accidents, difficulties, all this is projected towards their children. Because, according to adults, children will not notice anything.
Maybe you were a teenager who never felt the need to grow up early. Maybe you have never felt tackled by complications and difficulties around you. But many other children have no other choice. They cannot turn the other cheek and live out their childhood as a normal child would.
Little adults in a difficult world
It is possible that you may remember the moments when you were yelled at to act or behave like a child. It’s ironic to say it this way, because you’ve probably heard phrases like this. “Stop jumping around” , “Behave like an adult” , and as is the case for girls, “Stop behaving like a boy”.
It seems that jumping and playing are disliked. From an early age we are scolded for doing things that are truly typical of children’s behavior. Why do they force us to grow up? Why do they yell at us for behaving the way we are? Even when we are young, we learn that the sooner we stop behaving childishly, the better. But in some cases, this situation is much more pronounced.
Relationship problems between parents, violent situations, demanding too much from your children, and arguing in front of them. All this leaves a scar and affects them. Personally, I remember a friend’s situation. She told me that when she was young, she had to experience a very tense situation with her parents, where infidelity was the main character.
She understood everything, but they treated her as if she was “stupid” . Unfortunately, she had to live through situations such as following a parent in the car, to try to find the place of infidelity. She had to experience quarrels in the middle of the night that woke her up and made her cry. In addition, my friend suffered through situations of physical and mental abuse that she had to experience first hand. This little girl even had to act as an intermediary between her parents. She was only 8 years old.
She remembers very well her father saying something out loud to his grandmother. A short sentence that made her realize how wrong adults can be: “Leave her alone, she will not notice anything”.
Many years later, the whole situation took its toll. It caused her to suffer from emotional dependence and immerse herself in toxic relationships. And we do not even have to mention the terrible lack of self-confidence and self-confidence that she inherited from these childhood circumstances.
Children notice everything
Children understand everything. They are not stupid and adults seem to think they are. That is why, in many cases, we do not take them into account. We ignore them and make them experience scenes like the ones mentioned above. All of this has consequences for them, and as parents it is our responsibility to prevent it.
Let’s put ourselves in a completely different situation. For example, in all the poor countries where very young children have to start working and take money home to their families. They are just children, but they are already acting like adults. They have not chosen this lifestyle. Life has simply forced them to make themselves responsible for situations that they are not meant to deal with.
These little adults are good at listening to others as they get older. They feel a little out of place with people of the same age. They are much more mature, have grown mentally but not physically. Their experiences have marked them, and it does not make them feel at home with their peers.
Children must be children. They must behave like children, and we must allow it. They should never live through situations that could affect them in the future, especially if we can avoid it. But especially it is our duty to banish the idea that children do not understand the adult world from our minds. Because they often understand it much more than we think.
Underestimating what a child may or may not understand causes them harm. Instead of defending their well-being, we have been part of relationships that have somehow ended up giving them scars. Their tomorrow will be strongly influenced by what they experience today. It is our job to take care of them.
