Parents usually say many things to their kids – some knowingly and some unknowingly. However, as a parent you should be very careful with words because there are certain things that have very deep impact. Read on to learn about 10 ridiculous things that you should not say to your kids.Parents are also humans and they too make mistakes. But that is fine because every human learns with experience. However, if you know few things in advance you can save a lot of things before actually happening. For example, if you know that there are few things that parents say to their kids without having any bad intention but these enter deep into the minds and hearts of children, you will never utter those words.
If you save yourself from saying some of the ridiculous things that convey wrong message to your kids, you will help them grow up into a confident individual. Here are 10 ridiculous things that you should avoid telling your kids because they actually do more harm than good.
10 Ridiculous Phrases Parents Should Avoid Saying
Have a quick look at the phrases which parents should never say to their kids.
1. “Leave me alone”
There are times when you are extremely busy or you have a deadline to meet and at that time if your small child disturbs you, you get on your nerves. Well, no matter how busy you are, if you request your child to not to disturb you for some time, he or she will stay quiet, for sure. You can assure them that as soon as you are done with your work, you will get back to them.
2. “You are so ...”
You may find your child clumsy, lazy or foolish often, but saying so and that too in front of others can make your child believe that he is the same. Negative labels often become a self-fulfilling prophecy. The best thing is to point out the mistake specifically cutting out the adjective or generalisation of your
kid’s behaviour.
3. “You always …” Or “you never ...”
It is obviously reflexive in nature that parents say something common about their kid’s behaviour as soon as there is repetition. But you should be careful using both, you always…and you never...because these labels can stick for life and may ruin your
child’s self-confidence.
4. “Stop crying or I will ...”
If children get hurt either by words or action, most often parents ask them stop crying. You should not forget that kids do get upset and they need to express their feelings. They get frightened, sad, hurt and upset and need to express their emotions. Try to acknowledge the emotion upfront and support your child.
5. “Do not argue with me or I will...”
Although arguments are not good, this phrase puts all the power in your hands and hampers your child’s growing sense of self-sufficiency and ability to figure out things. Children may not be able to speak-up for themselves even if they are right as saying such kind of things will pressurise them to keep quite.
6. “No dessert unless you finish your dinner”
Use of this statement will decrease the importance of food and your child will not enjoy the food because he will simply try to finish it to enjoy his dessert. Instead you can say that we will first finish our meal and then all of us will have dessert.
7. “Stop or I’ll give you something that will make you cry”
Threats are rarely effective especially when they come out of parents’ frustration. Threats or
spanking has always been ineffective ways of changing children’s behaviour. Try to handle the situation calmly.
8. “Hurry up! otherwise ...”
Well, this is one of the obvious phrases that most of the parents use and that too often. It can be because your kid is searching for his shoes or trying to wear the socks all on his own or doing something else. Remember, never rush your child as in a hurry there are chances that your child may hurt himself or herself.
9. “Wait till your daddy/mummy is back”
This sounds very familiar. Most of the times when you find things getting tough you threaten your child with this phrase. This will make them believe that you do not have the capability to handle situation and they will not listen to you.
10. “You know better than that”
Even if you think this, it is probably not true. May be your child did not know better at the time he needed to express it. Remember, learning is a trial and error process and children also may be forgetting things at times.
There are a handful of terrible things that parents say to their kids. But, the above phrases that appear harmless can trigger resentment, indent
self-esteem or bring in some less desirable sentiments in your children.
Parents have the best of their intentions but often they say things to kids without thinking that how it is being perceived by the child. However, you should think twice before using or repeating the above 10 phrases to your kids.
How should parents talk to children? What kind of phrases should parents never say to children? How can parents use words wisely while talking to their children? Discuss here.
