Microaggressions or "ouch moments," as they are referred to in the story, are brief exchanges where an indignity, insult, or slight is expressed--whether intentionally or not--from one person to another. For instance, when children use words like "lame" or "gay" to mean that something is bad, weird, or different, they communicate a message that having a disability or being part of LGBTQ+ community is equal to being bad, weird, or different. Children likely are not trying to be hurtful; they may just be repeating words that they have heard in the past and may not realize the discriminatory connotations.

Young people have a wonderful capacity to care about each other. However, they need guidance, mentoring, and modeling from adults to understand the impact of their words and behaviors.

A Note to Parents and Caregivers by Kevin L. Nadal, PhD, provides more information about microaggressions, and strategies for talking to children about hurtful language, discrimination, and bias.

Excerpt:

When a bee stings, Ouch! That hurts!

When your finger gets caught in a closing door, that hurts a lot.

Hearing a mean or hurtful word hurts a lot, too. When other kids say something mean or hurtful, it is hard to know what to do.