I Say, You Hear

I have a favorite expression that I "stole" from my friend. I use it frequently when I speak to my children. The saying is, "You don't need to hear it, but I need to say it". As a parent I still worry about my children. I want to tell them things that I know they are already aware of. I want to tell them to watch their children and hold their hands. I want to tell them to cut their kid's food into small pieces. I want to tell them to be careful around swimming pools. My children used to get offended when I told them these things. They would say that they are not babies or idiots. If I did not express my feelings, I would think about them all day. Now, if I premise the unwanted statements with, "You don't need to hear it but I need to say it", they listen. It is amazing how one sentence can change the tone of a conversation.