WATCH YOUR MOUTH!

Slight changes in how you say things can make a huge difference in the way your kid responds to you. It really might seem simple and ridiculous, but trust me. It’s not magical (and certainly not a “transformation”), but every little bit helps.

Here are a few to compare.

• “Get to” instead of “have to.” For example, “we get to go to the store after lunch” instead of “we have to go to the store after lunch.” To emphasize this, say these two things out loud: “do we have to?” vs. “do we get to?”

• “As soon as you_____, you can______” instead of “you won’t be able to_____ unless you_____.”

• “If you dont” (negative consequence) replaced with “when you do” (positive consequence). This one is hard sometimes…practice this one.

• “Where do those go?” instead of “put your _____ where they need to go”

• “I love it when you _______” instead of “I really hate it when you ______.” There are several versions of this one that every parent has used at one point in time. Thats ok. No worries…just be aware. Keep the sarcasm (hard for me…I must admit).

Check out the Facebook page to add to the conversation and put in your suggestions.

DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER EXAMPLES?