I see your point. Often people don't support us when we're down. But I don't think the "laugh and the world laughs with you" line should be used by a parent, alongside "I'll give you something to cry about," to discourage a child from showing emotions. That's the bigger point I was trying to make.

I do understand that children (of both sexes) need to be taught not to pitch a fit just because they didn't get their own way about something. But I managed to teach my daughters not to throw tantrums in the store because they want candy, without cutting off all of their emotions in the process. They assure me I've never given them the message that crying is not OK. And I wasn't even all that great a parent.