07/05/2026
As a CYP therapist, I see every day how cruelty is often learned long before it is acted out. Children absorb what they live around, the anger, the bullying, the silence, the hatred, the way adults speak to each other and to themselves. Add social media to that, and young people are being exposed to constant judgement and cruelty at an age where they are still learning who they are.
We cannot expect emotionally safe young people while normalising emotional harm around them.
If we want a kinder generation, we have to model kindness, empathy, emotional safety, and respect first. Children are always watching, always learning.
Hurt people can hurt people but healed people help heal people too. Let’s break the cycle.
