Top Parental Cliche Sayings and How to Avoid Using Them on Your Own Children

Remember those words that spewed out of your parents mouths that made your skin crawl? If you are like most of us, you probably swore to yourself that you would never treat your kids like that. If enough time has past since then and the memories have faded, these same clichés might have nuzzled their way into your own vocabulary. As you well remember, these clichés can be detrimental to the parent-child relationship. Such sayings tend to be defensive and reveal negative parental assumptions. The reaction from the child is typically a belief that the parent is not even trying to understand them and a rebellious spirit that breeds anger toward the parent. So, to help you foster a healthy parent-child relationship, I have compiled a top ten list of parental clichés and an explanation of how to take careful precautions to make sure these words never torture your children again.

10) "You're not going out in that, are you?"
Instead of insinuating disapproval over your child's appearance, encourage self expression (within reason) and if someone asks just say that you let them dress themselves. If it embarrasses them, they will change. If what your child is wearing is inappropriate or not covering enough, require them to wear coverings and explain that they are worth more than what the clothes they have chosen indicate.