We were fishing yesterday and my daughter ran ahead on a swaying dock 😬. Induce mom panic as I didn’t feel like going swimming that day. I yelled “BE CAREFUL” It was like I was talking to a brick wall 🧱🙈
I then yelled after her “Watch where you are moving each foot”. She slowed down and began being much more mindful of where she was putting her feet 🙌🏼
Morale of the story, saying be careful is something that literally just comes out of our mouths (like it did with me) but it just isn’t effective.
Often they will just ignore you (a common scenario), become scared, or be confused (be careful of what?) Additionally, it MAY also instill fear and result in kids taking fewer healthy risks and engaging in healthy and developmentally appropriate play.
