"Food Is to Me as Gas Is to Cars??": Using Figurative Language to Explain Illness to Children

Abstract

Anecdotal evidence suggests that using analogy and metaphor to explain illness to children is effective. However, very little empirical research has been conducted to support the effectiveness of using analogy and metaphor as an illness explanation strategy. Moreover, the limited research conducted has theoretical and methodological weaknesses. Upon examining the literature on the development of children's cognitive processing of analogy and metaphor, it is concluded that the anecdotal recommendations for using these tropes to explain illness are questionable. That is, the advice on using figurative language to explain illness in the health-oriented literature contradicts the research on children's figurative language processing abilities. These issues are discussed in relation to types and quality of analogy and metaphor and how they interface with explanation and interaction.