They shouldn’t be doing that. It’s annoying. It’s impolite. It’s inappropriate. They’ve got to get to school. They’re going to wake up their brother. They’re wasting water. They’re going to make everyone late.

But you know what?

Before you reprimand or correct, you should check the ratio. How many times have you already said that today? Have you said anything positive? Or are you just zap, zap, zapping them?

Imagine what it’s like being a kid. Imagine how often they hear “Hey!” and “No” and “Stop” and “What are you doing?” Imagine what kind of message it sends to hear so much negativity from their parents. It must be crushing and depressing. Can they do anything? Can they do anything right?

There is no exact ratio to keep, but we should try to maintain a balance. We should make sure that they’re not only hearing corrections and criticism. That we’re complimenting them, that we’re encouraging them, that we’re at least occasionally interacting with them as people who we like and who make our lives better.

Because they do!