Kids are the most technically advanced mechanisms for hearing ever known to man. Which is why we need to be careful about what we say around them. Here are 5 conversations you should never have in front of your kids:

1. Serious arguments. If you’re going to have an argument or serious discussion, do it in a safe place where the kids can’t overhear (in the basement, out in the garage, etc.) Kids eavesdrop, and when they hear you and your spouse raising your voices at each other, it scares them. Plus, when you’re in that mode, you say things you don’t mean, but it stays in your child’s head forever.

2. Finances. Kids can feel anxiety, and if there’s one thing people get anxious about, it’s finances. Even though children don’t completely understand the concept of finances, they definitely understand that you’re freaking out.

3. Gossip. Don’t gossip about others in front of your children. They’ll pick it up and run with it, and they’ll become gossips themselves.

4. Kid-bashing. If you’re talking to your friend on the phone and your child overhears you saying things like, “My idiot son,” or, “My annoying daughter,” it’s absolutely devastating. Never speak negatively about your child unless you’re alone in your therapist’s office.

5. Negative self-talk. If you’re always beating up on yourself, two things will happen. 1) Your child will lose respect for you, and 2) He or she will also learn to do it.