20 Memos from Your Child
1. Don’t spoil me. I know that I ought not to have all that I ask for.
2. Don’t be afraid to be firm with me. It makes me feel more secure.
3. Don’t let me form bad habits. I have to rely on you to detect them early.
4. Don’t make me feel smaller than I am. It only makes me behave stupidly ‘BIG’.
5. Don’t correct me in front of people if you can help it. I’d notice more if you talk quietly with me in private.
6. Don’t make me feel my mistakes are sins. It upsets my sense of values.
7. Don’t protect me from consequences. Sometimes, I need to learn the painful way.
8. Don’t be too upset when I say ‘I hate you’. It’s your power to thwart me, that I hate.
9. Don’t nag. If you do, I shall have to protect myself by appearing deaf.
10. Don’t forget that I cannot explain myself as well as I should like. This is why I’m not always accurate.
11. Don’t make rash promises. Remember that I feel badly let down when they are broken.
12. Don’t tax my honesty too much. I am easily frightened into telling lies.
13. Don’t be inconsistent. That completely confuses me and makes me lose faith in you.
14. 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.
15. Don’t put me off when I ask questions. If you do, I will stop asking and seek my information elsewhere.
16. Don’t ever suggest that you are perfect. It gives me too great a shock.
17. Don’t ever think it’s beneath your dignity to apologize to me. An honest apology makes me feel surprisingly warm towards you.
18. Don’t forget how quickly I am growing up. It must be very difficult to keep pace with me, but please try.
19. Don’t forget I love experimenting. I couldn’t get on without it, so please put up with it.
20. Don’t forget that I can’t thrive without lots of understanding and love, but I don’t need to tell you, do I?

--edited from Dr Teh's clinic, D'sara Utama