They know if they stay in that city, living in those rough conditions, they would turn out just like their parents. Lori is the first one to discover that she wants to get away from Welch and her family after discovering what it is like to be treated "normal" by the kids at the summer camp she attends. Jeannette discovers that she wants to escape when Rex steals all of the money her and Lori saved up out of their room. Jeannette and Lori start to understand that education is their way out of their poor lifestyle. Jeannette finds a love for journalism after working for the school newspaper, she is then promoted editor in chief. Jeannette's journalism skills can really help her succeed in the future, finding a job in her interest. .
The parenting distributed by Rex and Rosemary result in the children relying on themselves. Rex's logic to parenting is: "You can't cling to the side your whole lifeif you don't sink, you better figure out how to swim" (Walls 66). This is also said after he throws Jeannette in the middle of the hot spot and let her drown because she does not know how to swim. Because the family is in poverty, they never have food to feed their selves so they often have to trash pick scraps of food in their school cafeteria or go on the side of the road to pick up cans to sell for two cents for their food. One day when Rose Mary was watching the children, they realize she is hiding food from them when there is no food to eat at the house. They discover she has eaten half of a giant chocolate bar and did not want to share with any of her children, which is why she was hiding it from them. When they find it they split it into four ways for each other. Jeannette being forced to survive by herself without parents being able to support her, makes her emotionally stronger and more independent when she starts to grow older. .
The children learn to not gain emotion towards normal things such as homes or pets.
