just say you were walking and you see a little girl (age 8-12) who looks sad. and you could give her one sentence if advise, what would you say?

12 comments

1. Absolutely nothing. I was sad kid, and the amount of complete garbage advice and aphorisms adults threw at me only made it worse. They didn’t know me, they didn’t know my problems, and they should have shut the fuck up.

2. [removed]

3. “hey, I know I’m a complete stranger to you and you don’t have to if you don’t want to, but if there’s anything you would like to talk about, I can lend an ear. You look to be a bit sad and just want to make sure you’re emotionally okay before we part ways.”

   I know it’s not one sentence, but couldn’t help adding the second one.

4. Unsolicited advice is never great. Better to say “are you ok?” or “is something wrong?” if someone looks sad

5. When I was that age, I would have appreciated that someone asked if there was something they could do for me or even more important, if there was something I wanted to tell to someone. Nowadays it could be like suspicious to ask that to a child? No idea. In the sixtees that was not a problem, it was not like now. But no one ever asked, they just ignored me, even my teachers, let alone neighbours. Not sure that I would have said what was wrong, but just the fact that someone cared.

6. “Don’t worry, it gets worse.”

7. I wouldn’t. I was a kid with downturned eyes and a downturned mouth, and I STILL have a complex about it from the amount of people who’d ask me what’s wrong, or try to cheer me up. I wasn’t sad, thats just how my face is. I’m not butting into some kids thoughts just because her face isn’t cheerful enough for my liking.

8. I wish someone told me “It will be okay, you’ll grow up and these problems won’t hurt anymore.”

9. I cannot number the amount of times that complete strangers came up and asked if I was okay. I spent many years after forcing a pleasant look on my face. It is okay to not look happy all the time.

10. I usually get a good response telling kids that it’s okay to sing Screw it all, screw it all, don’t give a crap anymooooore to the tune of Let it go. Then I sing it to make them laugh.

    Basically a G rated version of [the masterpiece ](https://youtu.be/NICI7yKp7cw). (NSFW)

    No advice, more giving them permission to vent or be angry if needed.

11. Nothing without knowing more. Kids that age already have pretty complex lives and feelings, I don’t feel like any half-baked impersonal wisdom that I could throw at them would have any beneficial effect. Also, it’s fine and appropriate to feel sad sometimes, so I wouldn’t automatically want to attempt to say something to take that away. Too much of our culture is based on running away from discomfort and feeling like any feeling but happy is something to fix. Being sad sometimes is fine. (but that’s also something I wouldn’t say to that girl because maybe she’s sad because of something that is very decidedly not fine so)

12. If ik her: “yo y u sad ??”

    If not: mind my own business….I don’t like unwanted advice from random people + a 14 yo isn’t the best person to advice some1