Word Power

"Sticks and stones can break my bones...but names can never hurt me..."

Well, it was bound to happen...

*Sigh.*

But I thought for some reason the boy was immune to the hurtful words of other kids...

Very naive of me, I know. I guess I was wrong.

It's not so much the boy who did it or what was said that made me so sad (kids are kids). It was more the hurt I saw on Edward's face as he tried to process it out loud. He'd obviously been mulling it around in his head for awhile.

But how do you explain what the child meant or might have meant when he said what he said? How do you explain that it probably wasn't meant the way Edward took it without excusing away the other boy's actions? Hmm...

Since kids lack maturity/discernment, they lack the ability to made wise judgements in what they should or shouldn't say. They forget (sometimes) that their words have power and that particular power isn't always a good thing.

I know that Edward has been equally guilty of blurting out hurtful things -- especially to his sister -- but it doesn't dampen the pain he experiences when falling prey to it. Though hopefully it will help him think a little the next time he wants to impulsively blurt out something without thinking.

It's as I told him, everyone is different. Being "weird" (as he was called) isn't necessarily a bad thing.

I think kids forget that. Different (a.k.a. weird) is just that: different. There's nothing wrong with standing out in the crowd. No one should be made to feel bad about that. We should celebrate it.

And true friends always see that.

Ah, the lessons of childhood...filled with little bumps and twists.