16 Things You Should Never Say To Your Kids

 Your words carry more weight than you realize.

1. “Be a man!”

It’s important for kids to learn to express their emotions, but statements like this only create those emotionally unavailable people we all know (but love anyway).

2. “Girls/boys don’t do that.”

You don’t want to stop your kids from exploring something they may very well excel at.

3. “I hope someday you end up with a kid just like you.”

It sounds like a clever thing to say, but you’re basically telling your kid that the experience of raising them is so miserable you hope they have to suffer through it too.

4. “Your mom/dad is an idiot.”

Your partner or ex may indeed be an idiot, but it’s important to remember that you’re talking about your kid’s parent. More than that, though, when you speak this way you’re sending the message that it’s OK to talk about the people in your family this way.

5. “You’re the _____ one, and your sibling is the ______ one.”

This only puts your kids into boxes that they may want to break out of one day.