Although I just did a bit on why I limit the NO word with my kids, I am going to tell you a time when I DID tell my kid NO because my 20 month old was acting totally inappropriate! So, as I mentioned, I reserve saying NO for times of danger or when harm is being done. Well, the other morning, I was preparing breakfast and all of a sudden, my 4.5 year old started crying because my 20 month old was pulling her hair like they were in the middle of a WWE wrestling ring (yes, you read that correctly.. My younger babe is the bruiser in the family, lol). In this situation, I got down on Quinn’s level and in a firm voice (without yelling) I said, “No, we do not pull hair!” In an instant, Quinn’s bottom lip started to quiver and she let go of Caira’s hair. She immediately realized what she was doing was wrong and she went in for a hug. She signed ‘sorry’ and was genuinely apologetic towards her sister. I can honestly say, that is all it took and we moved on with our day and ate our breakfast.
Now, if my girls heard the word NO all….. day….. long…. this interaction may not have been as powerful as the above interaction was. Because I do not overuse the NO word, it actually means something when I need to use it.
I didn’t have any other occurrences of the hair pulling that morning nor did I have any other ‘sisterly fights’ (at least for that day!).Thank goodness.. I mean, momma hadn’t even had her coffee yet.. Geez!. If anything, they were cuddling on the couch right after breakfast which is fine by me because I was able to get ready for our day…. in peace 👍!