Little Adults: Children Know Things That Adults Ignore

They are just children, but they mature faster than you think. Even though their bodies are small and still evolving, there are small adults within them who know much more than we think they do. Children go through and go through the same experiences as adults. They have been pressured to take on responsibilities that, at their age, should not belong to them yet.

Many parents turn their backs on the problems their children face. Or, in other words, against the problems they have and which affect these youngsters. Their frustrations, mishaps, difficulties – all this is projected onto their children. Because according to the adults, the children will not notice anything.

Maybe you were a child who never felt the need to grow up prematurely. 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 their lives as a normal child would.

It is possible that you may remember moments where you were scolded for how you behaved. It is ironic to say it this way, because you have probably heard phrases such as: “Stop jumping around”, “behave like an adult” and, when it comes to girls, ” stop behaving like a boy” .

It seems that you do not like when you jump around and play. From an early age, we are scolded for things that are really typical of children’s behavior. Why do they force us to grow up? Why do they scold us for being who we are? Even when we are young, we learn that the sooner we learn to stop acting childish, the better. But in some cases, this situation is much more stressed.

Marriage problems between parents, abusive situations, demanding too much of their children and arguing in front of them. All of this leaves a mark and influences them. Personally, I remember a friend’s situation. She told me that she was young when she was forced to experience a very tense situation for her with her parents, where infidelity was the main protagonist.

She understood everything, but they treated her like “stupid”. Unfortunately, she had to go through situations such as persecuting a parent in the car to try to discover the place where the infidelity took place. She was forced to witness quarrels in the middle of the night that woke her up and made her cry. Furthermore, my friend went through situations of physical and psychological abuse, which she had to witness. This little girl even had to act as a mediator between her parents. She was only eight years old.

She perfectly remembers how her father said something loud to her grandmother. A short phrase that made her realize just how wrong adults can be: “Leave her alone, she will not notice anything.”

Many years later, this whole situation took its toll. It led to her becoming emotionally addicted and immersing herself in toxic relationships. And we do not even need to mention the terrible self-esteem and low self-esteem she suffered because of these childhood experiences.

Children understand everything. They are not stupid, even if adults sometimes think so. That is why in many cases we do not take them into account. We ignore them and force them to experience scenes like the one described above. All of this has consequences for them, and as parents it is our responsibility to prevent this.

Let us imagine a completely different situation, for example all the poor countries where young children have to start working and withdraw money for their families. They are just children, but they are already behaving like adults. They have not chosen this way of life. Life has simply forced them to make themselves responsible for situations they should not have to deal with.

These little adults are good at listening to others as they get older. They feel a bit out of place with people of the same age. They are much more mature, have grown up psychologically, but not physically. Their experiences have marked them, and that makes them not feel at home with peers.

Children must be children. They must behave like children, and we must allow it. They should never go through situations that could affect them in the future, especially if we can avoid it. But above all, it is our duty to ban the idea that children do not understand the adult world from their minds. Too often they understand much more than we think.

Underestimating what a child may or may not understand causes harm. Instead of advocating for their well-being, we have become part of the circumstances that in one way or another have left a mark on them. Children are small adults, and their tomorrow will largely be affected by what they experience today. It is our job to take care of them.