Let’s say that if you don’t throw a party for your birthday, you won’t get old. It’s a simple solution. But we’re not in the Neverland, so this isn’t the case. Who doesn’t know this is a great amount of kids that believe that the party is what makes you old.
A study was made on 99 children between 3 and 5 years. About 2 kids out of 5 though that birthday parties were linked to us getting older. They thought that if you don’t party, you will remain the same age.
Isn’t that cute? You’re just a little kid and after you blew out candles of your cake and sang Happy Birthday, you immediately grew older.
70% Of Toddler Believe We Can Remain Young
The published paper said that even though ‘young children understand certain important biological aspects of the ageing process’, they are still confused about the role of the party and its causes.
There were three cases of young volunteers performed by Jacqueline D. Woolley from the University of Texas at Austin, and Amanda M. Rhoads from the Community of Hope in Washington DC. The first case had a kid that didn’t get a party for his birthday, the second one of a kid who got two parties and the third one of a kid who got a controlled party.
The lucky kid who got two parties made almost 20% of the toddlers think that the one celebrated got 2 years older. The kid who didn’t get a party confused about a quarter of the other toddlers, who believed that the child remained at the same age. The study was repeated with other children and the results were similar.
In the same study, the children were told a story of a woman who wanted to remain young. More than 70% of the 3-year-old children believed that adults could do that, and the older kids (4-5-year-olds) were more realistic.
This research is important in understanding how society gives significance to celebrating birthday parties, and how it influences the little ones.
Jacqueline D. Woolley believes that ‘our culture is obsessed with the concept of the birthday party’ She thinks that parents should celebrate their birthdays, but also ‘enjoy their children and their children’s questions, and discuss these issues with their children as they arise spontaneously.”
