The Dumbing Down Of the English Language to Accommodate Our Children!

Or is it because adults think it is appealing or cute to hold onto words that sound infantile as a connection to their child.

This issue is a hot button for me and has been a subject of discussion on my blog at previous occasions.

It seems lately there is a constant and reinforced use of one of my least favorite words, “owie” or is it “owee”?! It is hard to know how to correct or spell a non word.

Do we think our children cannot distinguish between a cut, a bruise, a scrape, a burn a bite, a rash or an itch?!

There is an inference by both parent and child (this seems to include all adults related or not) to not only blindly group all these possibilities into a situation where the adult mostly overacts, misinforms and generally offers some visible care when in fact, none is warranted or needed.
Crying seems to be expected as well as the latest cartoon character Band-Aid and possibly some reward, (sugar maybe?)

Think of how much wiser and educated children would be if:

1. The condition is correctly labeled.

2. A Band-Aid is only used if the skin has been broken with the possibility the area is bleeding.

3. An anti-itch product is used for insect bites as appropriate before they are scratched and scabbed.

4. The seriousness or lack of, is calmly explained so the child understands what is happening i.e. in most cases a bruise requires no care.

5. Rewards are not connected with minor daytime, playtime injuries.

6. Children will not need to exaggerate their condition since they clearly understand they probably need to be more careful and reduce the possibilities of injury.

It is interesting that when children are injured at daycare, the situation is discussed correctly and, if any follow-up care is required, that is clearly explained.

In almost all cases, they are made aware of how to avoid that injury in the future.

Taking responsibility for what could happen to you and learning to reduce injuries should be the goal.
That is not going to happen when adults overact, do not educate, and turn what should be a learning experience into a pity moment.

As you can tell, advanced verbal skills, education, personal responsibility are high on my list for all children.

Let’s treat them as the intelligent begins they are.

Try it and you will see the interaction completely change for the better!

Good luck!