The Party of No

It's happened. My daughter has achieved that Holy Grail of toddlerhood, dreaded by parents everywhere: she has learned how to say no. And suddenly there is very little that fails to elicit a negative response. Baby, do you want a banana? NO! Baby, do you want to go to the playground? NO! Baby, do you want to tear up some books and bang on the computer? NO! Baby, do you want to take a nap? NO! NO! NO!

At first I thought that her interest in that particular word had more to do with mechanics than meaning: the word is easy to say and the head shaking apparently pleases her to no end. However, I'm starting to think that she enjoys saying no because she hears the word so much. There is no limit to the amount of times we say no during the day. Here is a partial list of acts that elicit a NO! from Mom and Dad:

• No hitting.
• No chewing on the iPhone.
• No chewing on the DVDs.
• No chewing on the week-old piece of cheese you found behind the kitchen table.
• No touching the computer.
• No touching the dirty diaper.
  
• No touching the remote (unless you're attempting to block ESPN...in that case, carry on).
• No walking on the road.
• No walking with the dirty tissue you found on the road.
• No walking with the cigarette butt you found under the dirty tissue you found on the road.
• No eating sand.
• No eating rocks.
• No eating Mommy's right shoe.
• No eating Mommy's left shoe.
• No eating food out of the garbage can.
• No eating paper towels out of the garbage can.
• No eating last week's mail out of the garbage can.
• NO EATING ANYTHING OUT OF THE GARBAGE CAN!

You get the idea. But maybe we could be more positive with baby. Perhaps we could give her a list of Yesses she can apply to her daily life:

• Yes, eat your broccoli.
• Yes, give Mommy a great, big kiss.
• Yes, try out your new walking feet all around town.
• Yes, squeal with delight when Dad reads your favorite board book.
• Yes, giggle uncontrollably when Mommy tickles you.
• Yes, give your stuffed animals lots of cuddles and kisses.
• Yes, learn something new about the world each day.
• Yes, always remember how much we love you!
  

Now that's a party line baby can appreciate. Even without all that fun head-shaking...