Just say "No"

For a small teeny two-letter word, “No” can sure ruin an afternoon if you have little ones. It’s a powerful word. It’s an important word. Why? Because if you don’t learn to say it, your children will never learn to hear it and life will get pretty hard the older they get. Dramatic? Is it?

This word is the beginning of every melt-down, freak-out, kicking and screaming fit your kids will ever pound the floor with. As they get older, it becomes hideous backtalk and disrespectful behavior that you can’t seem to reel in.

The problem is parents no longer know how to say this word. I know… you wanna give your kid everything, including things you perceived your parents denied you. You want to make up for every disappointed time you didn’t make the team or didn’t get that new shiny whatever-it-was.

Recently, the (in)famous Park Slope Parents were in the news again wanting to ban ice-cream vendors from selling their wares in a public park because it was too difficult to deal with their screaming children who wanted ice-cream when they saw them. Really? So now it’s the ice-cream vendor’s fault that you can’t manage your children? Mother’s were exclaiming that their afternoon was ruined because they had to leave with their kids crying! Maybe it should be a learning moment……ya think?

Let’s be real; we all had ice-cream trucks that trolled the neighborhoods all summer long, every day, EVERY DAY and my parents seemed to manage our wants and desires because we certainly didn’t get ice-cream every day. Should we ban grocery stores from putting candy and gum at the front counters? I’ve certainly witnessed many meltdowns from that. We better ban McDonalds from placing their signs on the street too!

When did “no” become such an unspeakable word for kids? My girlfriends kid who’s 10 now, came in from school the other day exclaiming he couldn’t believe this friend at school stays home on the weekends and had never been to Six Flags, Disneyland, WaterWorld or Jungle Jim’s. He was amazed as he’s has been all those places, some multiple times, because Mom has a bad case of “Can’t say No” so they are gone every weekend to do “fun things”.

No one says “no” all the time but you better teach your kids the word or when they grow up (if they grow up) they’ll have a rude awakening when other people (like bosses) and laws and rules and life tells them “no”. It won’t kill them, I promise. And they just might appreciate it more when the “YES” comes!