I agree with you. And I think another issue is that people think children’s memories somehow don’t count – like because they’re young, it won’t sink in or something – and because nobody likes thinking about unpleasant things, it’s often just easier to stop talking about them. But it’s definitely clear from the book (and life! I’m a social worker’s kid!) that it’s crucial to help the kids find ways to deal with what they’ve been through.

I think sometimes people don’t know how to deal with children having knowledge they don’t think they ought to have, and so they adopt the let’s-pretend-nothing-happened strategy. It’s a pity, because these things really need to be talked about.