Don't spoil me. I know quite
well that I ought not to have all that I ask for. I'm only testing you.
I know where I stand.
Don't make me feel smaller than
I am. It only makes me behave stupidly "BIG."
Don't correct me in front of people
if you can help it. I'll take much more notice if you talk quietly with
me in private.
Don't protect me from consequences.
I need to learn the painful way, sometimes, I need to learn from experience.
Don't be too upset when I say
"I hate you." It isn't you I hate, but your power to thwart me. I don't
mean it but I want you to feel sorry for what you have done to me.
Don't take too much notice of
my small ailments. Sometimes they get me attention I need. I may learn
to enjoy poor health if it gets me the attention I seek.
Don't nag. If you do, I shall
have to protect myself be appearing deaf.
Don't tax my honesty too much.
I am easily frightened into telling lies.
Don't tell me my fears are silly.
They are terribly real and you can do much to reassure me if you try to
understand.
Don't put me off when I ask HONEST
questions. If you do, you will find that that I stop asking and seek information
elsewhere.
Don't ever suggest that you are
perfect or infallible. It gives me too great a shock when I discover you
are neither.
Don't ever think it is beneath
your dignity to apologize to me. An honest apology makes me feel surprisingly
warm toward you.
Don't forget how quickly I am
growing up. It must be very difficult to keep pace with me-but please do.
Don't forget I love experimenting.
I couldn't get on without it, so please put up with it.
Don't use force with me. It teaches
me that power is what counts. I respond more readily to being led.
Don't be inconsistent. That confuses
me and makes me try harder to get away with everything I can.
Don't make promises; you may not
be able to keep them. That will discourage my trust in you.
Don't fall for my provocation's
when I say and do things just to upset you. Then I'll try for more such
"victories."
Don't do things for me that I
can do for myself. It makes me feel like a baby and I may continue to put
you in my service.
Don't try to discuss my behavior
in the heat of conflict. For some reason, my hearing is not very good at
this time and my cooperation is even worse. It is all right to take the
action required but let's not talk about it until later.
Don't try to preach to me. You'd
be surprised how well I know what's right and wrong.
Don't make me feel that my mistakes
are sins. I have to learn to make mistakes without feeling I am no good.
Don't let my fears arouse your
anxiety. Then I will become more afraid. show me courage.
Don't worry about the little amount
of time we spend together. It is how we spend the time that counts.
Don't forget that I can't thrive
without lots of understanding and encouragement, but I don't need to tell
you that, do I?
THEN I WILL BE YOUR FRIEND TOO.
REMEMBER, I LEARN MORE FROM A MODEL THAN A CRITIC.
~*Author Unknown*~