Why should say YES?
Being a parent can be stressful especially if you have more than one child coming at you with request. Learning creative ways to say “Yes” to your child will decrease chances of melt downs or arguments.
When is the right time to say YES?
If your little one asks to go for a walk right before naptime, instead of telling him/her “No” it is your naptime kindly tell them “Yes” we can go for a walk after you wake up from your nap.
When your older child begs you to have a friend over don’t instantly say “No” response with “Yes you may on Wednesday”. Giving an alternative “Yes” answer from a straight “No” will release the tension caused by sometimes badly timed request.
Understanding the power of YES
Knowing they are being heard and their feelings are being considered will make a child more confident. Imagine if you went to work and every project you submitted to your boss he/she said “No” to without even considering it. Eventually your confidence level would drop.
The same is true with children.
The more we tell our children “No” without even considering their request the less likely they are to come to their parent with a request. Consistently turning down a child may bring on bad behaviors such as lying, being sneaky or becoming disrespectful.
Raising confident children is by finding a balance between creative Yes’s VS straight No’s.
If all you do as a parent is tell your child No No No, they are less likely to come to you with request or problems. Closing the door to communication with your child is an easy one with “No not right now” being all they hear.
Opening the door back up is a long hard battle of earning trust back. Feeling loved and understood comes from open lines of communication even when it disturbs your wants as a parent.
If you have had a long day at work and your children ask you to play a game of catch consider saying “Yes I would love to just let me change my clothes and sit for 10 minutes can you set a timer for me?”
Finding ways to replace our most common response of “No” to a “Yes” will help ensure we raise happy, confident children who feel open to sharing even the toughest of choices with their parents.
This is a Guest Post by Nicole
Nicole blogs at Seamlessly Savvy. There she shares her love of couponing, staying organized, freezer cooking and trials of raising five rambunctious boys. Her passion to give her boys a less chaotic childhood than her own is what inspires her to be Seamlessly Savvy.
Images provided by:
schoolathome.blogspot.com
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