Parents mean well, we really do.

We want our kids to get good grades, stop hitting their siblings, and, yes, clean their plate at dinnertime. It shouldn't be that hard, right?

Wrong. Sometimes these harmless sounding statements don't work. Even worse, they often backfire to cause unexpected and unwelcome side effects for us and for our kids. (Just like your prescription for headache medicine may accidentally cause vomiting or make you spontaneously sprout a leathery tail.)

This book takes 13 of the most common parent-isms and walks you through the ways they can go wrong, why they could negatively impact your kids, and what you should say instead.

Includes parental greatest hits like:

- Do You Need Any Money?

- Get Straight A's

- Don't Be a Quitter

- Don't Talk Back (to Your Elders)

- Waste Not, Want Not

- Be Nice to Your Friends

- Give Your Aunt a Hug

- Win Your Game Today

- Finish Your Homework

- Don't Hit

- Sit Still

- Don't Watch TV

- Clean Your Plate