Why Not Have A “Yes” Day?
Do you ever get tired of saying no?
- Can we do…..NO
- Can we go…..NO
- Can we get….. NO
- Can we have….. NO
- Can we watch…… NO
- NO NO NO NO NO!
I actually get tired of saying no! I think sometimes it falls out of my mouth before I have even thought about it. I guess as a parent it’s an automatic response. Now I’m not saying it’s the right response, but when things are busy, it just seems the easiest answer to give! But it definitely doesn’t fall into my “Great Parenting Moments” when I have said no what feels like a thousand times a day!
So, I have decided that we will have “YES” days! Now, I don’t tell the kids I am doing this otherwise we would end up at Disneyland and living with 100 puppies. But I resolve that on particular days my response will be yes!
It’s actually not as easy as it sounds when I have been programmed for so many years to automatically say no as my first response! It takes me to slow down and think about what I say instead of the first thing that falls out of my mouth.
Now my kids haven’t clued on to this (I might have to be more careful once they read this!) so I haven’t had to deal with any hugely outrageous requests. So far, it has been nothing that will scar them (or me) for life:
- Watching a movie in the middle of the day.
- Ice cream for lunch.
- Finishing school work mid-morning.
- Friends over to stay the night.
- Baking with me in the Kitchen.
- Chocolate right before bed.
So as you can see it hasn’t been anything earth-shattering, but I can honestly say it has changed the atmosphere at home on those days. I seem to be less grumpy, and the kids, well they are just happy….. all because I stopped myself from saying no and said a big fat yes to cake right before dinner!
Seriously, give it a go, what have you got to lose, or more to the point, what have you got to gain?
