Things You Should Never Say to Your Child

Are you a perfect parent? Probably not; but you’re probably a pretty good one. I’m not perfect in the parenting department, that’s for sure. I lose my patience, wish I could ship my kids off to boarding school, and glare at my husband as he leaves for work in the morning from time to time.

I wish I was leaving and he was staying home with two kids climbing all over him while he tries to drink his coffee. I love being a mom, but like anything else that you love, you can’t love it 24/7/365. Sometimes you can only love something for 12 hours a day (that’s how long my kids sleep at night…). However, no matter how stressed, tired, or over it you are, there are certain things you should never say to your child.

Leave Me Alone

Telling your child you are too busy for them is going to become something they remember later. If you constantly brush them off and tell them to leave you alone, they will eventually stop coming to you for things. Instead, tell your child to wait patiently for a few minutes until you finish what it is you are doing and then do what they want.

You are so…

Anything. Never pigeonhole a child because they believe what they hear without question. If you tell your child they are so anything all the time, they’ll start to believe it. Unless you are telling them they are so wonderful or so kind or so giving or so thoughtful, don’t use that phrase. Shy, insecure, stupid, dumb, rude, bad, mean, klutzy, and words like that make children feel insecure and lose their confidence.

Don’t…

Cry, be sad, be angry…telling children their feelings are invalid only makes them want to keep them from you in the future.

Why Can’t You be More Like Your Sibling?

Comparing children makes them feel completely inadequate. Suzy is not the same child as Jane, and no parent should ever make their child feel badly about being different than their sibling.