If you've scrolled parenting Instagram or MomTok, you may have seen the line: "The way we talk to our children becomes their inner voice." It's by Peggy O'Mara, and the one-time owner of Mothering Magazine had a point.

"Childhood is a critical time for development," says Dr. Beth Pausic, Psy.D., a clinical psychologist with Kooth Digital Health. "On an...