I would go as far as to say we completely underestimate what children understand and remember because we're the ones that chose to forget.
Conceivably the first part could happen without the second.
Frankly, I don't think we should ever give any credence to allegations that have absolutely no evidence. The road is too rocky. Most people have at least one person that dislikes them. The people that kind of attitude would affect generally have many. All it takes is one person willing to lie .