Learning and developing are a two-way street.
Whenever my parents scold me as a child, they would never fail to tell me this exact same sentence: "Papunta ka pa lang, pabalik na ako."
I'd always stomp a feet and begrudgingly accept as truth the idea that my parents are wiser because they are older.
Years had passed since then. Now that I am exploring cognitive development theories on my first year in the university, I came to the conclusion that my parents' rationale in believing old age equates to wisdom is the assumption that people go through the same mental, physiological, and physical processes and undergo the same experiences despite differences in generational context, environment, and upbringing.
This notion isn't exactly wrong—at least to some degree.
Jean Piaget's theory states that children go through the same cognitive stages; as they physically grow, they simultaneously undergo the exact same cognitive developments. For example, children's perception and general way of thinking matures, enabling them to comprehend concepts they hadn't been able to in the past.
What my parents failed to take into account was how different our environments were growing up.
Lev Vygotsky's theory states that a child's cognitive development is largely influenced by sociocultural interactions happening around them.
My mother would always compare and contrast our maternal grandfather who was very authoritarian in their household, enforcing strict obedience in all aspects of her and her siblings' young lives, and my father who, although has his own flaws, is still more friendly and forgiving towards his children. This one instance alone should have spoken volumes about how unalike our environments were, having been treated by our own parents differently.
Growing up, I was used to the idea that children are less of a person than adults for many reasons; children are younger, more inexperienced, innocent, vulnerable, and emotionally and mentally immature. This viewpoint is not only acknowledged as a fact but is also a regularly occurring gibe for when children commit mistakes.
Growth crucially happens in early childhood and it's utterly important that older people not only encourage children to explore, they should also not subject them to underestimation or treat them as inferior. After all, children are more susceptible to an admittedly larger amount of knowledge and technically have more untapped potential than adults.
All of these bring me to a realization: No matter how good or bad my experiences were as a child, they will influence but will never hinder my growth as a person. What is important is who I have become, and that I will always be learning.
"Maaga pa at papunta na ako. Hindi ba iyon husto?"
