Truthiness
Normal newborn infants come into the world knowing how to vent anger. Their rage is manifest quickly and naturally the first time their hunger isn't quickly appeased. But it takes a little longer to pick up laughter as a social strategy, and it isn't until they walk and talk that they learn to lie. They acquire the skill the first time they go into the living room when they shouldn't and break a vase. "I did it, mommy," they confess when grilled. "Thank-you for telling the truth," mommy responds. "Now go to your room and maybe next time you'll learn to stay out of the living room when I'm not there." That's not what they learn at all, they learn to deny the truth. "It wasn't me, mommy," they answer next time. "Must have been the cat."
posted by John M Crowther @ 7:10 AM
7 Comments:
>>”Thank-you for telling the truth," mommy responds. "Now go to your room and maybe next time you'll learn to stay out of the living room when I'm not there." <<
I’m glad that you are finally touching upon the subject of child psychology, a subject that has interested me ever since I was told I was one once. It has been my experience that some mothers do not have as controlled response as the one you document above; many a mother, upon discovery of damage, has been known to swat. This leads to what we in the scientific community call the Cookie Monster syndrome: simply put, instead of apology the infant quickly learns to blame someone fictional for the crime. Children who grow up in such an atmosphere often become successful politicians.
love il professore's comment.
And what about the kid who just happens to be in the living room when the cat knocks over the vase and then when she innocently reports it(this is a true story btw) cops the wrap from the owner of the vase (in this case not the mother)incurring long standing psychological trauma and confusion... and the inability to sit alone in someone else's living room perchance the family cat may turn up on the mantle piece and maliciously knock over a vase... just to see what might happen.
Yep... the cat got away with it... because who was going to believe the child? ;-)
I remember a remark made 50 years ago by a colleague over an evening drink. " You know most of us like ourselves, yet all of us are planning to raise our children differently." Roger
>>the family cat may turn up on the mantle piece and maliciously knock over a vase... just to see what might happen. <<
And while we’re at it, what about the long-lasting psychological damage which has caused the cat to act so maliciously? The mental health of a child who has been the victim of trauma can be restored through patient analysis --Freudian, Jungian or Adlerian-- but what about the cat on the mantle? What is the cure for him or her?
According to my husband, cats are inherently evil so "therapy" wouldn't do them any good, (unless it involves scoring a warm lap or cat nip in the process). In my house it's always the cat's fault whether it's shed hairs on the fresh load of laundry or the late payment of taxes. It's quite convenvient really, harboring a conscience scapegoat. Great cartoon John!
Thanks, Mary. Great comments, everyone!
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