'Kindness' and 'Slay' are words of the year for kids
- Published
The word 'kindness' has been chosen as the Children's Word of the Year following a survey by Oxford University Press (OUP) of more than 6,000 children across the UK.
More than half of children (61%) said kindness was their chosen word of the year for 2024.
'Artificial intelligence' came second, chosen by a quarter (25%) of children surveyed.
When it comes to their favourite slang words, 'slay' came top, closely followed by 'sigma'.
Read on to find out more.
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Oxford University Press (OUP) has been running the Children's Word of the Year since 2014.
The publisher's research has often found that events around the world have an influence on children's choices and their language.
The OUP said that their research, surveying the opinions of children aged 6-14 across the UK, revealed mental wellbeing to be a reason for some children selecting it.
Andrea Quincey, from Oxford University Press, said: "It is so encouraging that kindness has been voted - by a considerable majority - as the Oxford Children's Word of the Year for 2024.
"This choice suggests something more personal: an awareness of mental health issues and of the hidden challenges others may be facing. "
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A quarter of children chose artificial intelligence (AI) as their word of the year.
The OUP said their research had shown "cautious optimism" among young people towards advances in AI, with concerns over fake online content".
'Queen' was the top word of 2022, following the Platinum Jubilee and Elizabeth II's death that year. Meanwhile climate change was the top word for 2023.
Slay: The top slang words
Children were also asked to choose their favourite slang word, with more than a quarter (28%) opting for 'slay', as a term of approval or support.
Slay has appeared OUP list for the past two years, but 2024 saw a rise in popularity specifically among younger children voting for the word.
The terms 'sigma' and 'skibidi' were voted as second and third choices "highlighting the influential role social media plays on children's language," the OUP said.