Change Don’t to Do

Have you ever listened to how many times we say to our children, “don’t!” That four letter word seems to roll out of our mouth so easily. “Don’t touch that; don’t spill that; don’t stay out too late!”

Don’t is not a teaching word. Don’t is a word that should be used for the emergencies when speaking to our children. “Don’t step off the curb, or don’t put that in your mouth!” When our children hear us say don’t, they need to perk up and listen. When we use it too often, they learn it is a common part of our speech.

https://clipart-library.com/

Instead of using the word “don’t”, we need to think about what we want from or for our children. It takes thinking on our part – it takes us thinking about educating our children and creating more conversations with them.

Instead of “don’t set your cup there”. We could say, put your cup in the sink when you are finished with it. Instead of “don’t leave your wet towel on the floor”, we could say, put your towel in the laundry room or hamper after you bathe. Our kids hear us better when they hear us talking to them rather than demanding or fussing at them.

When you hear yourself say don’t, make an effort to switch it to a do. It is not easy and takes time and practice. As you master this ability, you will be modeling this for your children; to learn to say what they want rather than what they don’t want.