Jennifer Lehr, author of ParentSpeak: What’s Wrong with How We Talk to Our Children–and What to Say Instead is the featured guest this week. In our conversation, Jennifer will explain what “parentspeak” is and why we should change some of the common phrases we use with our kids.
Many of the common phrases Jennifer says not to use are phrases I say to my kids all the time, including “You’re so cute,” “Be careful,” and “Can you say thank you?” These are phrases I’ll probably continue to use, for better or worse, but I do think Jennifer makes some good points about how they have the potential to send a different message than what was intended.
Listen to the episode and you be the judge of whether “parentspeak” is a problem, too politically correct or somewhere in between.
Links Mentioned in this Episode:
- Jennifer Lehr’s Website
- ParentSpeak: What’s Wrong with How We Talk to Our Children–and What to Say Instead
- Jennifer’s essay in the Wall Street Journal about The Wrong Way to Speak to Children
- The ParentNormal Crash Course: Everything Traditional Parenting Books Are Afraid to Tell You About Close Encounters of the Baby Toddler and Third-Year Kind (my book)
About Breaking Down Parenting: A ParentNormal Podcast
Since this episode was originally released, the show has evolved into Breaking Down Parenting: A ParentNormal Podcast. It’s a show that’s for imperfect parents by imperfect parents. Hosted by humorist and imperfect parent of three Chris Cate, every episode breaks down a topic that causes parents to break down, such as putting kids to bed, potty training, the terrible twos, homework, clothing, discipline, cleaning up, cooking for kids, and so on….
By the end of each topic breakdown, parents will hopefully realize they aren’t alone in their struggles and that the craziness all parents go through is actually quite funny when it’s looked at in the right light. After all, the mission of the show is to help parents laugh when they want to cry.
Breaking Down Parenting: A ParentNormal Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Google and Spotify.
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