Proverb

“Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me”

I have heard this proverb over and over in my life and continue to hear it today. The first time I heard this was on a day when I came home from school and I was upset because someone had said something mean to me. I was about six years old and my closest friend had called me a “meenie” while I was playing at her house because I didn’t want to play the game she wanted to play. At the time, this was the meanest thing I had ever heard and immediately demanded to go home. When I got home, my parents of course questioned why I had left so early and so abruptly and I explained what had happened. My parents sat me down and explained that most likely my friend didn’t mean it but even if she did what did calling me a “meenie” really do to me. It was then I realized that while I was upset she called me a name I was more upset that my friend and me were fighting. From then on, I was able to really just let harsh words pass by me because I learned this proverb at a very young age.

I feel this proverb is very useful and is used a lot. I believe it used mostly in the context of parents teaching their child a lesson and to reassure them that no one can really hurt them with just words. While a lot of people do believe this proverb is mean to just create a false sense of security in knowing that words will never actually cause harm, I believe that this proverb installs a good idea in children’s heads. While it is true that many people can say extremely hurtful things that may bash your ego or make you feel down on yourself for a bit, there is no real damage caused by hurtful words.

This proverb is extremely important because it teaches us to be strong against verbal attacks. While we do learn on our own to defend ourselves and not to be offended by harsh words, proverbs such as this really reassure us that no matter how harsh the words being spoken to us may be, they can never cause any real harm to us.  But this proverb also allows kids to see the reality of the world. It brings to light the idea that there are hurtful things in the world. It points out that life is not always full of goodness, it is often bitter and harsh and there is no real way to shelter yourself from that. And if people don’t learn to deal with the criticism, they’re in for a world in pain and hurt. This proverb, overall, is meant to show that no one can destroy your self-esteem, especially not with just words.