Why We Don’t Say Be Careful
Why and How We Try to Avoid the “C” Word in our House
No we are not reckless parents who let our kid does whatever he wants, consequences be damned. We have a toddler who is full of life and bursting with energy. He can take your breath away with a simple walk down the stairs let alone a bike ride or skiing. So why do we avoid saying “be careful” in our house.
There are a few reasons.
- It adds nothing constructive
- It can cause the adverse reaction.
It’s Not Constructive.
Honestly, to a two year old climbing a precarious piece of play ground equipment, what does “be careful” mean? Young kids thrive with simple, descriptive pieces of advice. When you say to use caution, it’s not telling them anything helpful.
If you’re not adding anything constructive when you use this phrase over and over again, your kids are going to tune it out. This means that after a short while, “be careful” can come to mean nothing at all. Scary right?
The Unintentional Consequence
The other potential outcome of overusing these words in situations where you kids might or do end up getting hurt, is that there is an association. When you say “be careful” it sends a signal to your child that they are doing something scary or dangerous. You may actually be putting them at greater risk in this situation.
What do you do when you realize you’re doing something dangerous? Do you tense up? Do you stop breathing? Maybe even panic? You could be doing this to your child all by using this same phrase.
So What Do You Say Instead?
Rather than use a simple phrase as a catch all to try to get your child to pay attention and use care, we challenge you to be mindful with your words. If your child is riding a bike and not using proper steering, you can tell them to look where you want to go. Or if they need to slow down, try using something like “hey bud, use nice strong feet to control your speed”.
In both of these examples, you are replacing “be careful” with an instruction that your child can follow. If you break it down like this, they can in fact, be careful.
You are keeping the activity safe and enjoyable, keeping the fear at bay for both of you.
Is your kiddo climbing? Try reminding them that they need three points of contact to be safe. You can even turn it into a counting game.
Maybe your little one is going too fast. Try making a game out of learning to control their speed. Red light green light is a fun game and you can use the yellow light to teach them to slow down.
What Else?
Teach your kid how to be safe and why in different situations. You’ll empower them to make the right decisions. Kids love applying what they learn and showing you that they can do the things.
Use the right safety gear like helmets. Check our reviews page for helmets that we trust and use for our own kids.
