Kids Totally Know That You're Being Sarcastic
Forget Cricket, maybe you should get your little niece or nephew a subscription to McSweeney's:
Parents have been warned to choose their words carefully after research indicated that children as young as four can understand irony. While previous studies has suggested that children may not appreciate sarcasm until the age of 10, the latest work shows that many develop a sophisticated knowledge of non-literal language before primary school. The report also found that many young children are confident users of irony – in news that may not come as a shock to parents who have been the butt of withering asides from their angel-faced offspring.
Even more tellingly, 72% of 6-year-olds in the study were correctly able to note that a "black fly in your chardonnay," while undeniably unpleasant, did not approach any level of irony. The kids get it, man.
So these kids are watching Yo Gabba Gabba with a hip sense of postmodern aloofness, and not the earnest childlike joy that I initially thought? I'm crushed.
They're probably just stoned.
When I'm around with a bag of candy and my windowless van, the kids always get it.
And you get a chance of parole in 4 years.
It's a death row pardon two minutes too late.
Isn't that ironic! (Doncha think?)
@STC: It's meeting the man of my dreams and I'm beating his beeyoootiful wife.
"The researchers suggested that parents could use some forms of irony – particularly hyperbole and sarcasm – as a way of calming conflicts with their young children."
The Rush Limbaugh Guide to Parenting, coming soon!
Aw. I used to work for Cricket.
Cool! My daughter loves it, and I have fond memories of reading it as an earnest, painfully unhip youngster.
Peru, IL's gift to the nation! Although they've moved them all up to Chicago now, I think.
One of our neighborhood Old People dumped about five years' worth of Cricket from the late '70s-early '80s on us a while back. I am intensely grateful for this.
Aw. I won a story contest in Cricket when I was 9. They printed my story in the October 1986 issue. My literary career peaked early.
Lucky SDH! I sent in 3 or 4 stories and they never got published. *sniffle*
I won one in December of '78! OLDOLDOLD.
Balk is way too deep for me. Thank God for Google Answers: "One expects a glass of Chardonnay to be insect-free, so the presence of a black fly might be a sort of irony. I don't think so, though. Frankly, I think it's likely that Alanis just doesn't know what the
word "ironic" means."
Maybe if you had a whole lot of flies in your glass of vinegar, and far fewer in your glass of honey?
I did a little home science once and found out balsamic vinegar does a good job of attracting (and drowning) fruit flies.
The irony is in the implied racism.
It's the Canadian definition.
I disagree. As a young pup, my dad used to force me to sit in the garage with him be his tool monkey. When he would say to six year old me, "get me that wrench on the left side of the toolbox," I would inevitably go to the right. His sarcastic response would always be "no, your military left." For years I thought there was a different between your regular left and military left.
Cheers to social science for digging up those painful memories.
Adoy!
aka Doy Hickey
I disagree as well. I've seen 8yr olds laugh at The Comic Book Guy.
I don't know about irony but my 4 year old gets sarcasm and often uses it in the withering tones of a teenager. Most disconcerting.
Hyperbole is her favourite thing though.
Hyperbole is the best!
And now I will shut up for a week.