Instead of "No!"

When we are caught off guard our “gut” response many times is “No!”  We then may give in after really thinking about it and realize we could have said “Yes.”  The child learns that a “No” may not really mean “No.”  Listen first and save the “No” for when you really mean it.

Say:

“Tell me more”

“Yes later”

“Give me a minute”

“Tomorrow”

“Maybe”

“We can talk about it later.”

“I need to think about that.”

Have a great day!

-Mary