You seem to put more of a negative spin on the words 'caution' and 'warning' than seems prudent.

After all, if I warn her to look both ways before crossing the street or caution her to mind the traffic before she heads out the door, I'm not exerting control. I won't be there when the moment comes to cross the street and I'm not taking her hand and walking her across like I did when she was a toddler and small child.

A warning is not authoritarian or controlling in nature. In fact, a warning releases the recipient from acts of control because it spells out potential hazards, pitfalls, or problems with a certain course of action and then releases the person to either ignore the warning and take their chances, to tread carefully and minimize their risk and exposure now that they know what they are, or to not pursue that course of action at all.

It's still their choice.