It is not a popular word, but it is a word everybody knows. In fact, it was probably your or your child’s first word. This one, small, magic word will save you from a lot of the headaches, and heartaches, of parenting–no.
It is not a popular word, but it is a word everybody knows. In fact, it was probably your or your child’s first word. This one, small, magic word will save you from a lot of the headaches, and heartaches, of parenting–no.
Parents, grab hold of the powerful word no and do not let go. Believe it or not, learning when and how to effectively say no will change your life and your child’s.
Henry Cloud, author of Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No, to Take Control of Your Life, says very simply that people who understand boundaries know what they are and are not responsible for. If they’re responsible for it, they say yes. If they’re not, they say no. I know what you’re thinking. Easier said than done.
Parents, grab hold of the powerful word NO and do not let go. Believe it or not, learning when and how to effectively say no will change your life and your child’s.
I’ve noticed, particularly with mothers, that we parents fail to say no because we don’t want to hurt others’ feelings. But the truth is, we end up hurting others’ feelings more when we become resentful and angry because we said yes when we shouldn’t have. Yes to a social event, a position on the board, running an errand for a friend, volunteering at church. All of these are good things, but whenever we say yes to one thing, we sacrifice another and often times that is time with our families or precious time for ourselves.
Most importantly, our children need to learn how to say no. Many teen girls report having sex with their boyfriends even though they didn’t want to simply because they couldn’t say no or didn’t know how to. How do we teach our kids the power of no? By modeling it ourselves.
Whenever we say yes to one thing, we sacrifice another and often times that is time with our families or precious time for ourselves.