- Don’t spoil me. I know quite well that I ought not to have all that I ask for. I am only testing you.
- Don’t be afraid to be firm with me. I prefer it, it makes me feel more secure.
- Don’t let me form bad habits. I have to rely on you to detect them in the early stages.
- Don’t make me feel smaller than I already am. It only makes me behave stupidly “big.”
- Don’t correct me in front of people if you can help it. It’ll take much more notice if you talk quietly with me in private.
- Don’t make me feel my mistakes are sins. It upsets my sense of values.
- Don’t protect me from consequences. I need to learn the painful way, sometimes.
- Don’t be too upset when I say “I hate you.” It isn’t you I hate but your power to thwart me.
- Don’t take too much notice of my small ailments. Sometimes they get me the attention I need.
- Don’t nag. If you do, I shall have to protect myself by appearing deaf.
- Don’t forget that I cannot explain myself as well as I should like. This is why I’m not always very accurate.
- Don’t make rash promises. Remember that I feel badly let down when promises are broken.
- Don’t tax my honesty too much. I am easily frightened into telling lies.
- Don’t be inconsistent. That completely confuses me and makes me lose faith in you.
- 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.
- Don’t put me off when I ask questions. If you do, you will find that I stop asking and seek my information elsewhere.
- Don’t ever suggest that you are perfect or infallible. It gives me too great a shock when I discover that you are neither.
- Don’t ever think it is beneath your dignity to apologize to me. An honest apology makes me feel surprisingly warm toward you.
- Don’t forget how quickly I am growing up. It must be very difficult to keep pace with me, but please do try.
- Don’t forget I love experimenting. I couldn’t get on without it, so please put up with it.
- Don’t forget that I can’t thrive without lots of understanding love, but I don’t need to tell you, do I?
~ Distributed as a service from Wyeth Laboratories, 1975.