Nip something in the bud verb phrase
To stop something before it becomes established or worse
Parents should nip their children's bad behaviour in the bud.
This problem would have be nipped in the bud if you had listened to me and used my solution.
This idiom is often used to express that you should accept an unpleasant situation or event because you cannot change it.
Once something has been done, you can do nothing but face the consequences.
The verb "nip" should be conjugated according to its tense.