These are the most harmful words you can ever say to a child

A new study has revealed the most harmful things adults can say to children.

Research from the charity Words Matter has shown that 41 per cent of children have been subjected to verbal abuse from adults, including parents, teachers and other important figures in their lives.

According to the concerning new stats, 51 per cent of the children aged 11-17 who took part in the survey were subjected to this verbal abuse on a weekly basis.

A total of 1,000 young people took part in the research and they were asked what the most harmful things an adult could ever say to them were.

The top five worst things were as follows:

• “You’re useless”
• “You’re stupid”
• “You can’t do anything right”
• “You’re worthless”
• “I’m ashamed of you”

The words had a real impact, too. According to the findings, of the children who said they were verbally abused, 46 per cent said they doubted themselves.

A total of 46 per cent also felt anxious as a result, while 44 per cent felt embarrassed and 23 per cent felt frightened.

By contrast, the five most constructive and positive things children can hear are as follows:

• “I am proud of you”
• “You can do it”
• “I believe in you”
• “I’m here for you”
• “It’s OK to make mistakes, you can learn from them”

Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings