There's not a single one of us who's above saying something mean and overly harsh in the heat of the moment.
But kids can sometimes take our passing comments to heart, whether me mean them or not.
That’s the message that this letter has spelled out for parents loud and clear.
Written by nine-year-old Ellie, the letter was submitted by her mum (anonymously) to The Unmumsy Mum who uploaded it to Facebook.
It seems Ellie and her mum had got into a big row after the youngster had refused to tidy her room.
Fed up, Ellie had declared that she wanted to be sold on eBay and, in her anger, mum had replied that ‘nobody would buy her.’
Of course, mum didn’t mean it. But Ellie took it seriously and was left “shattered.” So she wrote her the letter.
While Ellie’s apology is sweet, it’s the last couple of sentences that will break your heart to read.
“But the fact that you said no-one would buy me really shattered my heart,” she wrote. “At least now I know how ashamed you are of me. All my love, Ellie.”
Oh. Dear. God.
Our jaws are on the floor here. What an awful way for a child to feel, especially since we’re sure her mum adores her.
This just shows us how careful we need to be with our words when it comes to kids. They’re more fragile than they sometimes seem.