The word sook is an interesting one. It is used at times when a child is upset in countries such as Australia and New Zealand. We hear it in different ways but some common ones are:
‘Don’t be a sook’
‘You’re a sooky la la’
’If you sook, you won’t be able to …. ‘
’Stop sooking’
What does this word really mean? A similar word you may also hear is ‘crybaby’, We often think of these types of words as harmless. The definition of ‘sook’ as defined by dictionary.com, is “a timid, cowardly person, especially a young child; crybaby”. Timid? Cowardly? Are these words we can use to actually describe a young child?
Let’s break it down. Timid is defined as “showing a lack of courage or confidence; easily frightened” (dictionary.com). Are children meant to be courageous? Are they meant to be confident in what they do? They are kids! They are learning about the world… they need love and guidance. We are their teachers! Of course, they are frightened more often than adults because the world can be scary place to a little person.
