When I was awake with our three year old for four hours on Wednesday night (yes FOUR HOURS), I realised that part of the problem in getting children to behave as we expect is the constant barrage of mixed messages we give them. It must be so hard for them to comprehend, and at such a young age, it’s no wonder they get confused.
Here are 10 of the mixed messages we give our girls:-
1) We tell our children they must not have TV or the iPad before bed, but as soon as they’re in it, we sit, for hours watching MIC/entire series of the walking dead/friends reruns whilst eating our entire body weight popcorn and biscuits, remote no further than 2 inches from our fingers at anyone time. This is often done simultaneously with our iPad or iPhone.
2) We tell our children that they need to learn to sleep on their own, before returning to our own bed, which we share, snuggled up our partners! They wonder why they’re not allowed cuddles and the baby gets to come in our room too! FOMO inevitably kicks in and she decides our room is the place to be at 3am.
3) Stop shouting! (Said in a shouty voice)
4) Don’t you roll your eyes at me (whilst rolling your eyes)
5) I will not tell you again… (followed by the same message four times).
6) Last chance!!!! (before realising that you do not have the ability to follow through with your actions & therefore she realistically has another 22 chances before you actually do as you’ve threatened.)
7) Don’t talk to strangers…. *random man walks past* ‘Morning’! 🙂
8) Stop playing with your food!!!!!!
Here, have a play kitchen. That plastic piece of broccoli? Sure, you can play with that.
9) Do not be naughty or the police will take you away, but if you get lost, definitely go and speak to a police officer.
10) Money doesn’t grow on trees!!!! What’s money made out of Mummy?? Paper. Where does paper come from???? Doh.
What mixed messages do you give your children??
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Guilty as charged! #thelistlinky
Oh yeah- so many sanity white lies we tell right!
#fridayfrolicsk
popping back in from #fabfriday
Great reminders!
Nice! On a serious note. I do think we have to think of why we’re telling our children to limit their time on technology and if it’s a rule for them to live by example. #FridayFrolics
YES! So funny…and so true!
#fridayfrolics
Hilarious and so true! Number one is so very relevant!
Don’t eat junk food, usually while eating some chocolate …
Oh yes! This is all so true! My daugheters are older now (9 and 10) and they always ask why it’s OK for us to stay up late watching TV after we’ve told them they’re not allowed. Sarah #FabFridayPost
I laughed reading this, but actually do feel quite strongly about some of the points you made! I’m teaching my children that it’s ok to talk to strangers, but you never go off with them. We always say hello to random people when we’re out and about so I think it would be so confusing to my children if I then told them not to do it too! x #TheListLinky
Great list! I’ve been known to shout at my children, “USE YOUR NICE VOICE!!” Yes, mixed messages galore!
Oh, I always forget! #thelistlinky
I love this. So True. All of them. I’m so guilty of the don’t shout, and I won’t say this again! Thanks for linking up to #FridayFrolics
Oh I am so guilty of this! I have often shouted up the stairs “stop shouting at each other” I have then stomped up the stairs to ask where the herd of elephants that I can hear having a party are. #FridayFrolics
Oh, these are all so true! Can’t think of any that I do myself but I’m definitely guilty of many, if not all, of those ones on your list. #FabFridayPost
Hands up to all of the above.
I guess the message is to teach by example. Sure is easier to adopt the do as I say and not as I do attitude though. #FabFridayPost
It’s funny how many things we communicate that aren’t verbal. These are all embarrassingly true! #HumpDayLinky
Haha this made me laugh especially number. 2, which is why we bed share and still do at 1.5 years! We all love a snuggle
#HumpDayLinky
This made me giggle and took me back to when I was a child and my mum would say half of these to me!
#HumpDayLinky
Aha! So true – I am definitely guilty of most of these! Unfortunately the shouting one in particular…darn toddlers! #HumpDayLinky
Absolutely!! I could have written this list myself!! #HumpDayLinky
Good points #thelistlinky
That’s very true! We’re almost as contrary as the kids themselves! Thanks so much for joining us for #FridayFrolics
Very funny, I mustn’t let my kids read this post or they’ll cotton on to so much of the nonsense I speak! #thelistlinky