Children’s Word for 2022 revealed and they picked the heartwarming 'Queen'

Virgin Radio

17 Jan 2023, 16:16

What a year it was. The Children’s Word for 2022 has been announced and it will thaw the iciest of souls. The prolific word that has been chosen to represent the past 12 months by kids is none other than: Queen.

Last year, the nation celebrated the monarch’s Platinum Jubilee followed by the sudden death of Britain’s longest-serving monarch, which has made a long-lasting impact on children.

Over 4,000 children (aged 6-14) were asked for words to describe how they summed up 2022 and words ‘Queen’, ‘happy’ and ‘chaos’ were shortlisted.

A further 1,000 children were asked by Opinium to decide the Word of the Year 2022 from the shortlist of the three.

Nearly half (46%) of children chose ‘Queen’ as their word of the year, followed by ‘happy’ (36%) and ‘chaos’ (14%), while 52% of girls chose the word ‘Queen’ compared to 39% of boys.

The Oxford University Press (OUP) said the findings 'highlight that the news has an impact on children and they absorb the language around current events' and that Her Majesty provided ‘an important female role model’.

Helen Freeman, director of Oxford Children’s Books, said: "It comes as no surprise that Queen is Children’s Word of the Year for 2022.

"This not only reflects Her Majesty’s 70 years of incredible service, but over the past decade our research consistently reveals how attuned children are to the news and the impact current affairs have on their language.

"It’s vital we continue to invest in language development and ensure children have access to a wide range of vocabulary in order to feel equipped to process and discuss the news."

It certainly beats last year’s Children’s Word of the Year which was 'anxiety' and 2020's 'coronavirus'.

Here's Dr Rangan Chatterjee telling our Chris Evans about the importance of being present when you're with your kids.