Don’t you really hate it when you sound like a broken record, you say things without thinking and as soon as it is out of my mouth, you are tired of hearing it too.
We all do it. We repeat the same phrase over and over, and for some reason we expect the kids to respond. But they don’t hear us – they hear the teacher’s voice from Charlie Brown instead.
Let’s examine some of these popular phrases we need to repeat.
1. “You’re grounded”:
Name me one child who has not heard this phrase before. No one is perfect and everyone has made one mistake or two. Mistakes do come with consequences. The consequence may lead to 1 or 2 days/weeks/months without TV and other privileges.
2. “Money Does NOT Grow On Trees”:
Children are demanding…sometimes too demanding. Many parents do not have millions of dollars to pay for their children’s luxury items. They thus use this phrase to teach their children the value of money. In my opinion, the phrase hardly works.
3. “You are such a sweetie pie”:
I heard many parents use this phrase on their children under the age of 10. Many children love to hear this phrase. This usually is when the children could manipulate the parent to get what they want.
4. “Don’t touch this”:
Fearing things will break, parents use this phrase. Many parents also fear that children would hurt themselves, if they touch knives and other sharp items. This phrase is thus a precautionary measure which is in the child (ren)’s best interest(s).
5. “Use your Indoor Voice”:
Kids are parents’ pride and joy. When kids get excited, they forget that they are indoors. They would sometimes scream and shout without noticing the decibel level of their voice. This even happens when the person, they are speaking to, is standing right next to them.
Proper Term: “SHHHHHH….)
6. “No means No”:
Sometimes kids do not understand the meaning of no. Parents need to reiterate this phrase to make their message clear. Some parents give in, after being hounded.
7. “Hold Your Horses”:
Children are not always willing to tell the whole truth. When parents figure out what their children are up to, they use this phrase.
8. “Can’t Never Did”:
Parents try to teach their children to try new things. They try to motivate their children by using their phrase. Usually a push can help make this phrase more effective.
9. “Knock it Off”:
Kids like doing activities at the most peculiar time. They also try to do something, while a parent is busy. Parents thus use this phrase to tell their kids that they need to stop what they are doing.
10. “Shut-UP”:
As much as it a derogatory word, it is still used by parents. The better way of saying this phrase is “Be Quiet.”
You forgot the most important one.
“Do as i say, not do as i do,” hated that one as a kid.