I'm Rubber, You're Glue

I was sitting in my car waiting for my mother to come out of the
store. To pass the time I started reading a book downloaded on my phone. I was
so deep into the book I hadn’t realized a car had pulled into the parking space
next to me until I heard a man’s voice that was getting out of the car.
He said “You always talk about how smart you are yet you never
know when to shut up.” His tone was very mean and very cutting. I felt a stab
and he wasn’t even talking to me.

I wondered who is he talking too. Whoever it was I never heard a rebuttal.  Anyway curiosity got the best of me
and I looked into the side mirror of my car and standing beside him was a young
girl. She was probably between 11 and 13 years old. She had her head hanging
down and looked totally defeated.

Instantly my heart broke for her because in essence her father had
just called her stupid. Two other kids got of the car. All three walked behind
their dad not with pride but with defeated posture. Kind of withdrawn, shoulder
slumped and hands tucked in their pockets. That made me think what other
harsh words have these kids been subject too. How are these words effecting
them daily? How will these words effect them as they get older?

The Truth Is… Words hurt. They can be like a stab from a knife,
a bullet from a gun or fist to the body. They can break your heart, spirit
and leave scars that never go away. The pain and hurt that are cause by things
you say can last a life time especially with children. They rely on adults in
their life for guidance. So when you tell them they are stupid, ugly,
retarded, fat and won’t amount to anything, eventually they are going
to believe it. Things you say to your children are things that they take with
them into adulthood. Unkind, uncaring, hurtful words can effect how child
functions on a daily basis. It effects how they do in school. It can
effect their grades and how they interact with classmates. What kids hear
can cause them to withdraw. It can cause them to possible become bullies
and lash out at other kids.  As they get older and have their own
relationships. They can become verbally abusive to their significant
others or allow themselves to be verbally abused. Not to forget if they
have kids of their own they may possible treat them they way they
were treated by their parents. 

The effect of harsh words is endless and can effect
generation after generation. As adults it’s our job to encourage our
kids. Our job is to make them believe they can be anything they want to be. We
should be telling them to dream big because anything is possible. Our job
is not to make them feel inadequate and insecure. If you got nothing but
unkind words growing up, remember how that felt. Why would you want to inflict
the same pain on someone else. Do better…

I wish the rhyme ”I’m rubber you’re glue. Whatever
you say bounces off me and sticks to you” was true. Perhaps if you
felt the sting of your own words you would choose them carefully.