Nightie-night, sleep tight.

Sweet dreams.

The land of dreams awaits you.

Maybe the Tooth Fairy will come tonight. (When children lose a tooth, they’re supposed to put it under the pillow, the Tooth Fairy comes during the night, takes the tooth and leaves something like a coin or whatever)

Words of encouragement, compliments

Great job.

Good job.

Nice job.

That’s a girl. / That’s a boy.

Atta girl. / Atta boy. (Atta is a slang way of saying “That’s a”)

I’m so proud of you

Way to go!

That’s a great coloring job.

That’s a great job of coloring.

You did great.

You were great.

What a neat outfit! = you’re dressed nicely

You’re a peach.

You’re the best.

You’re my everything.

My treasure!

You’re tops!

Top girl/boy!

What a champ!

23. Parents finding out what’s wrong and giving reassurance

There, there. (This is meaningless, but very often said over and over, for example while you’re holding a young child and patting them gently to reassure them.)

Upsadaisy (said while helping a child back up after a fall or tumble, or also lifting them out of a crib, etc)

What happened?

What’s the matter?

Why are you crying?

Is something wrong?

Is something bothering you?

Is there something you want to talk about?

Do you have anything to tell me?

You can talk to me about anything.

Don’t worry.

Mommy’s right here.

It’s all over now.

It’s okay.

You’re fine.

Everything’s fine.

There’s no need to worry.

Mommy and Daddy won’t let anything bad happen to you.

We’re right in the next room.

There’s nothing to be scared of.

It was just a nightmare.

Nightmares aren’t real.

They’re like playing pretend.

Everyone has nightmares. Mommy and Daddy have them sometimes too.

I know it must have been scary, but it’s all over now.

Are you feeling better now?

Do you want Mommy to stay here for a while?

What did he/she do to you? (Usually referring to a playmate that was being too rough.)

There’s nothing wrong with crying.

Some parents say the following when they think the child is being overly fearful:

“Don’t be a sissy / fraidy-cat / scaredy-cat.” All these words mean someone who’s overly scared of things. Children will also use them to describe other children (usually not very nice.)

Manners

Don’t interrupt Daddy/Mommy.

Don’t bother me while I’m on the phone.

Don’t call people names.

No whispering. (Many parents won’t allow this when others are present.)

Say please.

If I can’t hear you, it’s because you didn’t say please. (A way of saying that you will ignore any requests that don’t include the word “please”.)

I expect you to behave nicely while you’re visiting your friend.

Tell John you’re sorry you hit him.

Are you going to apologize?

You don’t sound very sorry.

Say it like you mean it.

Note:

“I’m sorry” means you regret something, but it could be your fault, or it could be someone else’s fault and you’re just expressing sympathy.

“I apologize” always means you’re at fault and you regret it now.

“Excuse me” usually is said when you just want to get past someone who’s standing in your way, or if you have to leave the table, etc.

That was not a nice thing to do.

You need to share your toys with your sister.

You need to take turns playing with that.

Date: 2016-01-03; view: 833