Turns out those little phrases that every mom or dad says to their kids aren’t as harmless or fun as they might think they are. In fact, some experts believe the things our parents told us as kids might have seriously messed with our minds. Here are a few of the most problematic parentisms:
- “If you don't hurry up, I'll leave you behind.” While mom or dad really just wanted us to hurry up, the problem is this phrase plays on the biggest fear that kids have. According to experts, children are afraid of abandonment more than even death and by using threats like this, they made us believe there’s a chance they wouldn’t be there for us.
- “If you don’t do your homework, I won’t buy you that toy.” What’s a little blackmail between parents and kids, right? Wrong. Child communication expert Lorenzo Naia says childhood psychology discourages punishments like this because the child will spend more time thinking about the punishment than about their behavior. Hence why your parents had to try this threat over, and over, and over...
- “Why can’t you be more like so-and-so? They’re so well-behaved.” According to child educator Annalisa Falcone, comparing children like this in their developmental stage risks “undermining their self-esteem and confidence.” Which is not great… but at least you always knew where you ranked among your siblings. Isn’t that what’s really important in life?
Find more things your parents said and why it screwed you upHERE.
Source:Vice