5.
"I'm on a diet."
Watching
your weight? Keep it to yourself. If your child sees you stepping on the scale
every day and hears you talk about being "fat," she may develop an
unhealthy body image, says Marc S. Jacobson, M.D., professor of pediatrics and
epidemiology at Nassau University Medical Center, in East Meadow, New York.
It's better to say, "I'm eating healthy because I like the way it makes me
feel." Take the same tack with working out. "I need to exercise"
can sound like a complaint, but "It's beautiful outside -- I'm going to
take a walk" may inspire her to join you.
6.
"We can't afford that."
It's
easy to use this default response when your child begs you for the latest toy.
But doing so sends the message that you're not in control of your finances,
which can be scary for kids, says Jayne Pearl, the author of Kids and Money. Grade-schoolers
may also call you on this claim if you turn around and make an expensive
household purchase. Choose an alternative way to convey the same idea, such as,
"We're not going to buy that because we're saving our money for more important
things." If she insists on discussing it further, you have a perfect
window to start a conversation about how to budget and manage money.
7.
"Don't talk to strangers."
This is
a tough concept for a young child to grasp. Even if a person is unfamiliar, she
may not think of him as a stranger if he's nice to her. Plus, kids may take
this rule the wrong way and resist the help of police officers or firefighters
whom they don't know, says Nancy McBride, executive director for the National
Center for Missing & Exploited Children, Florida Regional Office, in Lake
Park. Instead of warning her about strangers, bring up scenarios ("What
would you do if a man you don't know offers you candy and a ride home?"),
have her explain what she'd do, then guide her to the proper course of action.
Since the vast majority of child-abduction cases involve someone a kid already
knows, you might also adopt McBride's favorite safety mantra: "If anyone
makes you feel sad, scared, or confused, you need to tell me right away."
8.
"Be careful."
Saying
this while your child is balancing on the monkey bars at the playground
actually makes it more likely that he'll fall. "Your words distract him
from what he's doing, so he loses focus," says Deborah Carlisle Solomon,
author of Baby Knows Best.
If you're feeling anxious, move close to spot him in case he takes a tumble,
being as still and quiet as you can
Reference:
Michelle Crouch
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