Why you shouldn’t tell your kids to “Be careful!”

I was walking down the street in Manhattan today and a stranger said to me “be careful!”

I was very confused. I had no idea what she was talking about. Was she worried about the bicycles hitting us? The strange man wandering in front of us, mumbling and shouting? Something else entirely? And what did she want me to do differently? I wonder if that‘s how little kids feel when their parents tell them to be careful?

There are a million posts online explaining in detail why it’s so problematic to tell our kids to be careful, and offering numerous alternatives. Here are just a few pages that came up when I searched for “what to say to kids instead of be careful”:

Stop Telling Kids to “Be Careful” and What To Say Instead

https://www.happiestbaby.com/blogs/toddler/be-careful-alternatives-toddlers