Examples: "you're being bratty," "you always leave a mess," "you never think about anybody but yourself," "you need to learn not to be so ungreatful."

Instead of saying stuff like this, we, the adults can just say stuff like, "I feel very upset when you don't listen to what I have to say," "I would really like it if you would offer to help around the house," or, "I try to show respect for your opinions, so I would really like you to try to show respect for mine." We often preach using "I/my" statements instead of "you/your" statements, but we often use "you/your" statements with children. If you think about it, statements like, "you're being......," "you always," "you never," and, "you need to not be so......," are "you/your" statements, and you may be inadvertently be teaching children to blame other people, or call other people nasty names, rather than communicating what is actually going on. Statements like, "I feel/felt.....," "I would really like it if.....," or, "I don't like it when.....," are "I/my" statements, and you may even be teaching children to communicate how they feel or what they want without placing the blame on other people. So why don't us adults just practice what we preach?