We want every child to
have the best start in life
We all want the children around us to have every possible chance to thrive – to grow up healthy, to reach their potential and follow their dreams. To have the best start in life.
And we all remember things adults said to us when we were children ourselves. Warm, caring words that build us up, encourage and inspire us, or cruel, demeaning words that knock us down, crush and destroy us.
Words matter. They stick. They last a lifetime. Their impact shapes who we are and who we become.
Words matter for
children’s development
Words Matter is an ambitious new charity on a mission to improve children’s mental and physical health and development by helping to end verbal abuse of children by adults around them.
Children’s brains are built in response to the relationships they grow up with, and the words and tones around them, right from the moment they’re born.
Warm, encouraging words and stable and secure relationships are the building blocks all children need to grow and thrive – but too many children are growing up without the supportive and loving relationships they need to succeed. Verbal abuse in childhood can actively weaken the foundations of our brains and cause us problems later in life.
What we can do
Children need us to step in. We all have a responsibility to help children flourish and protect them from verbal abuse – parents, friends, teachers, any of us who care about children.
Two in five children (41%) experience harmful verbal abuse by adults around them. Verbal abuse is often unintentional, but with greater awareness, we can stop it and repair the damage our words can cause. If we know better, we can do better.
Change is possible if we all work together to find lasting solutions that support children and all the people around them. Through research and partnerships, and by raising awareness of the impact of verbal abuse, we can inspire action and fuel the systems change required. Our work will help people to understand verbal abuse of children and how to prevent it.
All of us, from whatever walk of life, get overloaded sometimes. As well as caring passionately about making lives better for children, we’re here for parents, carers and people who work with children. More support can lighten the load for everyone.
Together we can change lives. Help us spread the message that words matter, make a donation and support our work to stop verbal abuse of children so they can thrive and reach their full potential.
