According to Eyberg (1988), the Don’t rules help parents step back and encourage child-led play by avoiding commands, questions, and criticisms. Commands, or instructions, would take the lead away from the child could also introduce potential disagreements into the play. Parents are also encouraged to not ask questions. This can include questions such as “How about putting the toys away?” which are actually implied commands. The concern about asking questions is that they may come off as accusatory (“Why did you choose that toy?”) or take the conversation to an “adult” level instead of letting the child play freely and naturally. The general idea is that questions provide little information, so they have limited usefulness in therapy. The third “don’t” rule is to avoid criticizing. Though criticisms can range from mild to blatant attacks on the child, criticisms in general can lead to damaging effects on the child's self-esteem. As children learn which behaviors are good or bad, they rely on what their parents say about them and believe it. Criticisms may also frustrate or anger the child and can lead to a counterattack. Taken together, criticisms are not only unproductive in therapy, but also are threats to the positive relationship that the PCIT emphasizes.