Parenting comes with its fair share of challenges, but let’s be honest, the parenting one liners we use to keep our kids in line are pure gold. Whether it’s “Because I said so” or “Money doesn’t grow on trees,” every parent has a go-to phrase that makes them sound just like their own mum or dad.
A recent Reddit post seeking parenting catchphrases caught our eye, so grab a cuppa, have a laugh, and see how many of these classic one-liners you’ve caught yourself saying on the regular!
Every Parents have their parenting one liners
Parenting one liners are go-to shortcuts for communication. We use them because they’re quick, easy, and often funny or memorable, making them great for getting our point across fast, especially in the chaos of parenting. They help us stay consistent, set boundaries, or lighten the mood, and over time, these phrases can become a kind of family tradition, giving everyone a sense of comfort and familiarity. Plus, they’re handy for turning a tricky situation into something we can all laugh about.
Body Functions
This is a common one with little boys, especially when they’re discovering themselves. I had a house rule of no private touching in public parts of the house.
Other parents opt for:
- “No penises on the table” – lurkerfailslurking
- “Quit putting your penis on…” – taylor_92
- “No bare butts on the couch.” – MisfitWitch
- “Leave your vagina alone.” – justindoesntcare
- “Stop mooning people/me/the cat and put your behind away.” – Ordinary_Cattle
Pet Problems
Some pets have the patience of a saint when it comes to sharing space with their small humans.
Killingmehere uses “mate, what have we said about sitting on the dog?” far too often.
“We do not use the cat as a weapon” is a common phrase in Desperate_Idea732’s house.
Great Start To Life
AudreyGolightly79 says “Starting when my son went to kindergarten and we were doing our goodbye hugs and kisses in the morning, I would kiss him in a pattern of cheek, cheek, forehead, chin, nose and each kiss was accompanied with a part of a phrase:
Be your best (cheek)
Have fun (other cheek)
Be teachable (forehead)
Do great things (chin)
And (nose)
Then he would say, “Have a great day”.
We also changed it up for his basketball games to a handshake/fist bumps (less embarrassing than your mum kissing you courtside) and changed teachable to coachable and he’d say, “Have a great game”.
We did kisses every morning all through school (he’s a junior) now and he moved away to prep school a couple of months ago. It was the last thing I did when we said goodbye before leaving him at school.”
Road Safety
I say a little rhyme I made up every time we cross the road:
Look to the left, look to the right, Its nice and quiet and nothing in sight,
So over we go as quick as we can, Nice big steps and hold Mummy’s hand. – luckdragonbelle
In Our Feelings
Little kids have big feelings. There’s a lot going on in their world, and they don’t yet have the emotional capacity or maturity to deal with it. Many parents have different ways of explaining heavy emotions to kids.
- We say, “Do you need to be heard, helped or hugged?” – Technical_Goal_4914
- It’s not a catchphrase (yet?) but when someone (a kid) is upset or frustrated, I name the feeling but also call it a “difficult minute”. This helps my boys (5 and 3 years old) understand others’ meltdowns when we see someone else having a rough moment, but also relate to their own feelings as something that is intense RIGHT NOW but will pass. – GreeneyedPolly
- We’re “Having a rough go” over here. – biosahn
- It’s a “Hard moment” in our house. – pittdancer
- We are, “Feeling tendies” (tender) – OK_lawfulness4906
Accountability
- All feelings are okay, but not all behaviour is okay. – spicy1sweet
- Our variation is “All feelings are permissible. All behaviours are not”. From our therapist. – Juliet_foxtrot
- We don’t post bail! – skt71 – (I love this one and have used a variation on my kids)
“You can be mad, but you can’t be mean.” – mjolnir76
A Few Of My Faves
I’m all about finding a quick way to get a point across. Catchphrases my kids are tired of hearing:
- It’s good to want things. It builds character.
- Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.
- Make good choices.
- Do you need me to listen, act, or advise?
- Better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.
- Better to cook too much than not enough.
- I was young too. I’ve seen it, heard it, said it, and done it before you.
Other’s I’ve heard people say:
- Do it right or do it twice. Love this!
- I’ll just pop out the back and get some money off the money tree then…
- I brought you into this world, I can take you out.
What do you use or have heard before?
