02/10/2022
••• Yes! •••
As Api is learning to use more words to communicate her needs and wants, she has discovered her new favorite word, “No!”
This has been particularly challenging for me because she will say ‘no’ to everything!
I knew she was saying this partially because she heard it quite often from me and my partner. We use to say things such as, “No, we can’t eat ice cream because we just brushed our teeth.” Or, “No, we can’t go to the park right now because it is night time and we want to get ready for bed,” and “No, you can’t climb on the table because it is not for climbing.”
Then I realized maybe I just need to say ‘yes’ because, monkey see, monkey do, right? So I started to eliminate as much ‘no’ as I could, I started to replace it with a creative ‘yes!’.
“Yes, we can eat ice cream tomorrow when the sun comes up. Maybe we can even bring it in the backyard and watch the birds while we eat. Does that sound fun? Let’s get ready for bed today so we can get ready for our ice cream day tomorrow.”
‘
“Yes, we can go to the park tomorrow! We can put your little baby Luna (her baby doll) in the stroller and you can push her while we walk to the park. What do you want to do at the park?”
“Climbing is so much fun. Yes, let’s climb. Instead of the table, you can climb on my back like a monkey and I can carry you around the house. Do you want some bananas for a snack, my little monkey?”
Since I have started this, I notice her wanting to cooperate with me a lot more because she is not hearing me say ‘no’ to her all the time. I also noticed she uses the word ‘yes’ just as often as ‘no’. After introducing the creative ‘yes’, it makes it easier for me to honor her ‘no’
I am grateful for moments like this, when things work out a bit easier than the day before. I know there will always be trial and error. And, everyday is a new day, we are always learning and always growing.
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