![]() You’re teaching the wrong thing.It is normal for children to have sibling rivalries and disagreements that would usually lead to telling on each other. I hate the word “tattletale.” Stop using it. It’s sad how it takes up so much courage to make your voice heard just because of something so small yet omnipresent from childhood. Many grown ass adults still don’t say anything because they don’t want to stir up more trouble and look bad in others’ eyes. It’s interesting to note how these little things from youth leave such big impacts into adulthood, too. And this is why we have authority issues. The argument can be that they should try to resolve the issues by themselves, but then what’s the point of even having authority or parental figures? Are you really going to tell every victim all the time that he or she should have learned to stand up for him or herself? This is again putting the blame and pressure on the wrong person, when they really just don’t want to deal with the problem. But they should never feel bad about voicing their concerns over another person’s actions. They start thinking, in the end, nothing is worth telling on. It guilt-trips them for wanting to do the right thing or defend themselves and others because the line between what’s worth telling on and what’s not worth telling on can be thin. It’s a surprisingly harmful thing to continue advocating this concept of “tattletales” to young children. Great, it’s on a “kid’s show,” too, but I do like Spongebob’s IDGAF reaction. It is scary to think a bully might take revenge for being told on, so that is another dimension to it, and this will happen with or without the usage of “tattletale,” but the term certainly doesn’t help. Then they’ll be disliked even more, and there will be further repercussions. But also, to a degree, it’s because it looks bad if the victim goes around telling people about it. Part of the reason kids don’t say anything about it is because it can be embarrassing or they don’t want their parents to worry. Maybe I’m analyzing it too much now, but it’s also like saying, “You want to be liked, don’t you? So don’t tell on people or they won’t like you.” Who tf cares? ![]() Whether they were being obnoxious or not, I don’t think it should be up to an adult to spread such a juvenile line around, something a kid who doesn’t know any better would say vengefully, and to belittle their feelings. They are at a very sensitive and malleable age. It might not seem like a big deal now, but as a child, it can be very hurtful and even traumatic. I’ve heard adults say, “No one likes a tattletale,” or roll their eyes to kids who thought grown-ups could be relied on. And that’s why I feel like terms like “tattletale” can be harmful, and it is weird that, at least when I was a child, it was something even teachers were derisive about. The blame and guilt are placed on the one who tried to prevent or right a wrong. That mentality of playing victim and shirking responsibility for his or her actions is what really bothers me. You wouldn’t face repercussions if I told someone you did a good thing, right?” If you hadn’t done anything wrong, you wouldn’t have been ‘found out’ for anything and gotten in trouble. It doesn’t matter the method in which you got found out. The concept about this that also bugs me is, “I got in trouble because you told on me.” I always want to point out, “No, you got in trouble because you did something wrong and got found out. If somebody is doing something wrong that is hurting others, then a kid shouldn’t be scared of being a “tattletale” to do something about it. However, the phrase itself gets misconstrued or overused that the original intention of camaraderie is lost. In those scenarios, I can understand why a tattletale would be irksome. If they ask, “Who broke this vase?” I can see siblings being steadfast in their unspoken rule of no tattling, and this would solidify their bond. No one likes a narc who’s constantly telling on other people, especially if it’s none of his or her business.įor example, if I see a classmate cheating on a test, it’s not really up to me to raise a hand and announce to the teacher, “He’s cheating!” That’s just being annoying and involving myself unnecessarily (I get it, cheating is obnoxious and unfair, but that’s the teacher’s job, not mine). It’s a nice concept, sort of like kids need to stick together. ![]() I never really liked the term, “tattletale,” and it intrigued me when I realized that I grew up with teachers telling kids not to tattle on the other kids.
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