Dear Mothers,
My three year old says no to everything I ask her. Pick up toys: No! Time to eat: No! Time for bed: No! Put on your coat: No! It's driving me crazy! What do I do?
From,
Pulling my hair out
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I hear no a lot, too. Things seem to go better, however, when I ask questions that don't allow no as an answer: Would you like to wear your pink pjs or yellow pjs? Should we pick up blocks first or crayons first? Sometimes, too, I defer to a higher authority--the microwave timer. We'll race the timer or let the timer tell us when it's bedtime. Don't know what it says about my parenting that my kids sometimes respond better to an appliance than to me, but there you have it. . .
ReplyDeleteThis happened to a family I knew...they started asking her, "do you mean yes?" and she would say, "yes," and do whatever it was that was asked of her...not always of course.
ReplyDeleteSometimes they get to make choices and other times they need to do what they're asked. Maybe a dialogue about what choices the 3 year old DOES have would help (which pants to wear, what game to play, whether to eat chicken or a sandwich at lunch time...) and what they need to do when told (come to the table, pick up your toys, please use your inside voice...) Sometimes the kids just like to use their "power" and it's a trip for them, but respecting boundaries has to start young or it won't be as easy to fix it later.
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