no no no NO!

"no no no no no no no NO!" I cannot believe that this teeny tiny 2 letter word can be so freakin powerful. It's probably irritating for kids to hear all the time (that, and "don't")...but it's more irritating for parents to hear it from their kids! I wanna pull my hair out when Kapri says it!!!!

I was reading through THIS article the other day on BabyZone.com...AND had a funny convo about it with my girlfriend/hair-stylist-extraordinaire yesterday while getting my hair done. That combo sparked this blog post. "You can let your child say 'no,'" says Betsy Brown Braun, child development and behavior specialist and author. She says that it's when your toddler says it that's important: If you're directing him to do something and he says 'no,' he's being defiant; If you ask his preference and he says 'no,' he's stating an opinion. "When it's his choice, let it be his choice. If it's not a choice, don't give him a choice. Don't give your child a directive that ends with a question mark," says Braun.

Well yeah, when you put it that way...it makes so much sense! I'm now tempted to buy one of her books on how to "brat-proof" your child, LOL! Love it.  

What about trying not to say "no" yourself? "Avoiding the word 'no' [altogether] does children a disservice because they don't learn what it means or the power of it," says Braun.

Well, damnit. I've definitely avoided it for as loooooong as I possible could because (and I quote...myself) "I'll never have a snotty kid that says NO to me all the time". **insert foot in mouth now** Then I realized the other day that she never learned the word from James or I...but instead...NICK JR.! Dora the Explorer says (with hand sticking out) "Swiper NO swiping, Swiper NOOOO swiping". Great. Then there's also "Is THIS the red balloon?"...(or something to that effect)..."NOO". Oye vay. So there's really NO way to avoid kids saying NO...it's just a matter of explaining to them when it's okay to use it.

Luckily for FB, I can record memories as they happen...otherwise I'd forget...like this status update from Dec. 29, 2010, when she very first used the word in response to a question:
 

omg...the moment I've alwayyyyys dreaded JUST happened...

Me: "alright buggy, you ready to go change your stink butt & go beddy?"

K: (stands up, turns around to me) "no...nooo......no...no" (in a super sweet/innocent voice, enough times to make sure I heard her correctly).

I think to myself "eff, I don't want her saying no...but that was seriously too cute!" then I just smiled & looked away.

Kapri-1, Mom-0

On another note...how funny is this...James/Kapri got me this card for Mother's Day:

 

And that night just before bed, she started doing this...out of the blue!!