Bertrand Russell Quotes - occasional edition

They (= Children) have a dislike of humbug, which usually disappears in later life. The habit of screening them from the knowledge of disagreeable truths is not adopted for their sakes although adults may think it is; it is adopted because adults themselves find candour painful.
Source: Bertrand Russell: Mortals and Others, v.1, 1975
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I can understand the parental instinct to avoid causing children unnecessary fear or anxiety by exposing them to harsh realities. However, Bertrand Russell advises that instead of giving vague answers in order to shield children from the truth, parents should respond in a way that is appropriate for the child's development and as understandable as possible. This helps children gradually understand reality before they feel fear or anxiety. Furthermore, Russell points out that the practice of shielding children from unpleasant realities is often adopted not for the sake of the children, but because adults themselves find honesty painful.
For example, in The Conquest of Happiness (1930), Russell writes the following:

（Every kind of fears grows worse by not being looked at. The effort of turning away one's thoughts is a tribute to the horribleness of the spectre from which one is averting one's gaze; the proper course with every kind of fear is to think about it rationally and calmly, but with great concentration, until it has become completely familiar. In the end familiarity will blunt its terrors; the whole subject will become boring, and our thoughts will turn away from it, not, as formerly, by an effort of will, but through mere lack of interest in the topic.
Source:　The Conquest of Happiness, 1930, chap.5: Fatigue）

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