'Sticks and stones' mantra doesn't help kids cope with exclusion

Sometimes children don't need practical advice they just need you to show you understand and can empathise with them.

Parents can be afraid of validating their child's negative feelings, but dismissing them will only exacerbate those worries. iStock

Anna Nordberg

Feb 22, 2020 – 12.39am

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Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. As a kid, I was always sceptical of this saying.

Not just because my older brother and I got into all sorts of shenanigans that involved falling out of trees or off bicycles where I ended up more or less okay, but because emotional conflict – say, a fight with a friend where she said something hurtful to me – was a stomach-churning event, and recovery could take weeks.

Washington Post