In Real Life, the attitude toward this trope has begun to change due to issues about bullying and sexual abuse. See also Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves, which may be the much more serious and adult version. May cross over with Bad Liar if it's obvious to an adult what kind of problem the child is facing, even if they don't say it. A common problem faced by a grade-school Kid Hero. Related to The Bully, The Stool Pigeon, and Poor Communication Kills. If they go too far, their actions may lead to more serious consequences than social, such as a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown against the offender. This trope also covers cases of actual tattletales that everyone hates. This will often lead to An Aesop there's a fine line between snitching on someone because you want to get them in trouble and telling an adult because someone has done something legitimately wrong or because there's an emergency.Ī darker version of the trope is when a person is shamed by everyone else for telling on someone, even if they were justified in doing so. Still, The Stool Pigeon will not be very popular. Can lead to "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot if an adult tells a kid they should've talked to them from the very beginning. In works where the protagonist is a child, this trope is frequently used to keep the plot moving along in situations where an adult would be both able and willing to solve the problem if they were told about it, but from a narrative point of view, the child should have to solve it themselves. The end result is usually the child taking matters into their own hands, sometimes resulting in disaster. The child may interpret it as not being able to talk to an adult about any problem for fear of being labeled a tattletale, even one where an adult would be able to help. In some cases, this trope is reinforced by a teacher, parent, or other authority figure who's tired of the kids tattling on each other for everything and anything, but it can backfire. A bully may exploit this trope by taunting their victim with some variation of "Are you a snitch?" or "Go ahead, be a snitch and see how far it gets you." An Extreme Doormat in particular may refuse to tell on others. Even from a young age, children are concerned about how they look in front of their classmates, and the last thing a kid wants is a reputation as the teacher's pet/class stool pigeon who'll go squealing to the teacher at the slightest provocation. Someone may bring up the easy solution of telling an adult, only to be swiftly shot down. Nobody likes a bully, but the problem is, nobody likes a squealer either. Every kid ever knows that adults can't be trusted to solve problems, especially when you're dealing with The Bully who steals your lunch and shoves you into mud puddles at recess.
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