Your baby
learning to talk is super exciting because as parents we hope that soon we'll be chatting up a storm and it's nice that we'll finally get to hear what our baby's been thinking about all this time. Little do most parents know though that the one issue on most babies minds is "NO!"
Yup we wait and wait for our tots to start talking only to hear, "No, no, no, no!" and often the much longer and whiny, "Noooooooooooo!" Sigh. Talking is not as cool as we thought. If you've got a little one who says no day in and day out it can be annoying, especially when used against you, "No eat!" - "No sleep!" and more. If you want to limit this word in your household (and save your sanity) remember the following.
Impersonation is the biggest form of flattery: The main reason babies say NO! is because parents say NO! "No you can't have a cookie, no you can't run outside naked, no we can't play right now" and more. If you want a child who says yes, you need to say yes more often than you say no. Actually, in my opinion the overuse of the word NO isn't just obnoxious but it's a safety hazard. Think about it, if you say no to the little things like, "No you can't colors now" is "NO" really going to have the same impact when used for hazards like, "NO do not run in the street!" or "No touching the hot stove." Save your no for when it really counts. The rest of the time
find another way to say no without actually saying no.
Don't ask if you won't like the answer: The problem with most questions aimed at babies and other young kids is that many parents aren't asking they're telling, even when they phrase the telling as a question.
Example: You say, "Can you (or will you) please pick up that playdough now?" To which your child honestly replies "NO!" In this case your child is the clear winner - you asked, you didn't tell, which means you gave your child a choice. IF you won't accept the no, and leave the playdough or clean it up yourself, then you should be prepared to tell not ask. Say to your child, "It's time to pick up the playdough now." OR "In five minutes we're going to clean up." Tell don't ask if you're not interested in your child making the choice between yes and no. If you ask and your child says no and you still make her do what you asked it's not fair for the child who now likely thinks that asked or not they don't deserve to make their own choice which doesn't, in turn, lead to independent thinking.
