Stop Saying "Yes" To My Child!

As a mom 4 times over now, I have seen a whole heck of a lot and I have experienced alot. I have come to realize that there is more than one way to parent a child and be successful. However, there are just times when I want to scream because other people think that it’s ok to step in and contradict what I am doing. Let me set the scene.

Recently I went to an appointment I had. During the appointment, my youngest child, who is almost a year and a half old, was simply not listening to me. Now I am aware that attention span of a child that age is about 2 seconds, but my child knows what I expect of him. So… here I am at my appointment telling my child that he cannot do something and from across the room I hear “It’s fine. He’s ok!” My blood started to boil. No it’s not okay and he is certainly not fine! But I didn’t say anything, nor did I say anything until about four times later when I am now frustrated that my child is in complete nonlistening mode.

Here’s the deal people- I’m sure that since my child isn’t breaking something or throwing a tantrum that you might very well be fine with him looking at the things around him or touching display items or whatever. What y’all fail to realize is that I just told him “NO” and I do not want him doing whatever he is doing because I feel- AS HIS PARENT- that he should not being doing it. I am trying to teach him from a very early age that he needs to listen and to obey me when I give him direction.

Perhaps you feel that he is just being curious or just being a child, but that is not the point. I am teaching him manners and how to follow directions for when he is older. I am teaching him that not everything belongs to him and not everything needs to be touched. I am teaching him that there are boundaries and that there are consequences for not listening. By you contradicting me, you have now created in my child this idea that he can get his way if he just asks the right person.

Please for the love of all things holy- Quit saying “Yes” to my child! Please stop contradicting my parenting. I understand that some people are just trying to be nice and make you feel like it is ok since they perhaps do not want you to be embarrassed or some such muck. I assure you that I do not care if my child throws a tantrum for me saying “No” or gets upset because I won’t let him do something. I am perfectly fine to take him out kicking and screaming because I stand by my “NO.” I am not interested in pacifying a tantrum because all that leads to is more tantrums.

So the next time you see a parent tell their child not to touch something, to sit down and be quiet, or to stop what they are doing, please do not go over to them and say “Oh it’s ok. He/She is not hurting anything.” Let that poor parent do their job and parent that child. Let them set boundaries. Let them provide structure. A little structure never hurt anyone!