The impact our words may have on the children we serve in whatever capacity—as their parents, caregivers, grandparents, teachers, neighbors, business owners, and more—often goes unseen. We know our words make a difference because we remember how the adults in our lives impacted our childhoods, for good or ill.

My fiftieth class reunion was this summer, and many of us who gathered there reminisced about our favorite teachers way back in the 1960s when we were in elementary school.

“Who was your second-grade teacher?” a former classmate asked me.

“Mrs. Eggleston,” I replied.

“I don’t remember much about being in her classroom,” he said, “but I loved being there.”

“Me too,” I agreed. “I don’t know what she did, but she made me feel seen and loved.”

Another classmate caught my eye and said, “Jolene, your mom was my third-grade teacher.”

My mom, known as Mrs. Stratton to her students, had a reputation among adults of holding high standards of behavior. Translate that into kid talk and it comes out, “Mrs. Stratton is mean.”

“Uh-oh,” I thought to myself as he came over. “This could be awkward.”

“Your mom,” he began, “was the first teacher who made me work up to my potential. What I remember most is one day when we lined up after recess. After she brought us in and we were sitting at our desks, she said, ‘I counted how many of you boys took your hats off when you entered the building. Do you know how many of you did that?’

We all shook our heads.

To read the rest of The Impact our Words May Have on the Children, visit the Key Ministry’s blog for parents.

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Photo by Kelli Tungay on Unsplash