TOP TEN SENTENCES THAT CHILDREN DON'T WANT TO HEAR!!!

Today we are looking at what sentences WILL achieve the above look. And while it looks cute in the picture, just remember you are not the one trying to put this little one to bed. Or get her to eat. Or take a bath. Or simply stop holding her breath.

1. "Time for bed/bath/beyond." While children like having a rough idea what happens when, it's never late enough, especially if Dora The Explorer can't join in.

2. "Pick up your toys now." Children like to be in control of their stuff, just like any adult. And how dare you come into her room now after she has spread out all her toys so she knows where everything is, and then demand they be put away again!

3. "Finish your [insert gross vegetable here]." Even as adults, there are things we really don't want to eat and hope to never see on our plates again. Children don't have that luxury. They eat what is given to them - or sometimes not eat at all.

4. "Go to your room." Being in their room because they want to play in there is fun. Being told to go to their room because they misbehaved carries a whole different connotation. This is because it was not their choice at the time, and they know that their grownup is upset with them.

5. "Let [other child] play with that toy for a while. You already had a turn." Turns are meaningless to children. And at a young age it is next to impossible for them to empathize with another child. All they know is that they weren't done playing with it yet.

6. "Give [strange adult] a kiss." Now, on this one I am siding completely with the child. Some children are not comfortable with affection to begin with. And then you are presenting a strange face with a strange smile and expect them to kiss this person. That's not fair. Unless you want to start kissing strangers at someone else's bidding as well. Then it's all good.

7. "Get off the computer and go to bed." I thought I should throw in one for the older kids, just to be fair. The thing is, fellow grownups, sometimes kids are in the middle of a game and there is really no point at which they can save their progress. So if they log off now, they are losing progress they felt good about making that day. Having said that, you may run into another problem as the grownup if the kid is not forthcoming with information about where the next saving point is. But either way, they still aren't crazy about it. Trust me on this one.

8. "Why can't you be more like [sibling/friend]?' This is a harsh one. Children want to be seen and appreciated as individuals. Just imagine if someone said something similar to you, and how much it would annoy you. We should all be evaluated on our own merits, even children.

9. "Because I said so, that's why!" I think anyone who has had a child or children and said they never used this line, is probably not telling the whole truth. Especially during the "Why?" phase. It's almost impossible to avoid. But it's still not a really good explanation for the child, and at this point you're probably both too frustrated with the situation to come up with a better answer.

10. "Santa won't come here if you're not good." I really have no patience for this one. Children don't live under a constant threat any better than a grownup would. If they fall in line at this point, it won't be out of a positive reason but rather a negative one: fear. No one should have to live this way.

Usually at the end of posts like this, the blogger would give their qualifications for giving this list. So here are my qualifications. I am the mother of an adult son. I studied and completed a two-year course in Early Childhood Education. I babysat children from a very early age, maybe ten or eleven. I have worked in daycares over the years, and was never dismissed or had any strikes against me. And I like to think I have common sense. And you do too. We just all need a little reminder sometimes.