3 ms·
English is not my native language, what word should I have used ?
by poulpy123 4y ago
English is not my native language, what word should I have used ?
- wilg 4y agoIt's not an incorrect word, but it can be possibly misconstrued as being infantilizing, because "child" somewhat implies a young person. But I can't think of a better word! Perhaps it could have been more a bit more tactful to reword to avoid saying "child", like saying "your son is doing well" in this case.
- Symbiote 4y agoSon or daughter avoids the possibility of infantalizing an adult child.
- kbrannigan 4y agoAn adult child is still the kid of her parents.
- Symbiote 4y agoWithout further context, "his child was in an accident" suggests a child of ~1-12/16/18. (Younger than ~1 and we should say "baby".) "His son was in an accident" could equally refer to an adult.
- wilg 4y agoThat’s what I said. Unfortunate that there is no obvious way to make it gender neutral.
- smegsicle 4y agosaying 'his child' wouldn't imply child-age as much as 'the child' does