A six year old child confided in her teacher

During circle time, a 6-year-old quietly walked up to her teacher and said,"My parents fought last night. Again. Mama cried in the bathroom. Daddy slammed the door. I didn’t sleep."

She didn’t say it for attention.She said it because she needed someone to hear her.

As educators, we’re not just teaching math and reading, we’re often the first safe adult a child confides in when their world feels unsafe.

What may seem like “oversharing” is, more often than not, a child’s way of processing overwhelming emotions. And sometimes, it’s the only way we catch early signs of distress at home.

What do we do when a child says something like this? We listen. We note patterns. We loop in the counsellor. We keep the door open for trust, not judgment.

Because behind the giggles and glue sticks, some kids are carrying the emotional weight of the adults around them.

Let’s stay tuned in, not just to what children say, but to what they’re trying to tell us without saying a word.

Have you ever had a child disclose something surprising in class? What helped you handle it with care?