This 10 Things Single is about using words to command compliance from children. As it turns out, this is a pretty effective tactic for keeping kids in line — right up to the moment when it stops working. From then on, all bets are off.

Big Hairy Question: If your parents used words to overpower you, and if — once you saw what they were doing — you hated it, can you really expect a different outcome if you do that your own kids?

This is one of 10 Things I Never Say to Kids :: Why I Stopped + What I Say Instead.