Don’t cry over spilled milk, especially if it’s not even spilled on the table.

We all know people in our lives who freak out over minor issues. They cry and beg for forgiveness if they accidentally break a glass, as if that glass were a Fabergé Egg instead of something bought at Target ten years ago for $5. This emotional fragility can stem from many sources. Maybe they were punished too heavily for minor transgressions when they were a child, and they feel they must perform remorse for doing anything that could upset anyone. Maybe they feel that any minor mistakes reflect poorly on them, and because they have such low self-esteem, they assume everyone else feels the same way. 

If you are one of those people, it’s probably best that you do some work on yourself before you have children. If you don’t, your kids are going to grow up fearing making any mistakes because it will make their mom or dad angry. Kids want to please their parents, and they have to do a lot of emotional regulation if their parents aren’t emotionally regulated themselves. Emotionally regulating for two comes at a price, and it can take years to unlearn that behavior.