Saying "No" to everything

Bea has been constantly saying No, whether I am talking to her or not. Example: "Ainsley, do you want your cup?" Bea - "No".
Bea says "Dada?" I say "Daddy is working right now" Bea - "No".

It's not high on my list of annoying things, maybe midway. But, I do want to stop this constantly saying No to everything I say business. BTW, she does know how to say Yes and she will say that to things she definitely wants, like going outside or a snack.

 

I pray every day lately that it's just a phase. Alexis has started doing that and it's driving me crazy! In the mornings, I ask what kind of cereal they want and she says No. Then she proceeds to eat what I give her. And when she starts getting upset about something, she says No to everything I ask unless she does want it, in which case she just doesn't say anything or she nods her head. :wacko:

 

It must be. Melissa went through it a long while ago, and Jade, who is on her own schedule, is Little Miss "No" these days. To everything. Until I break her down.

 

My daughter has been doing this for about a month and a half now. It's driving me nuts. And about half the time the "no" really means "yes" in her case so I NEVER know what she really wants.

Holly

 

BTW, do you all get "No singing, mommy!" and "No dancing, mommy!" ?? It's like I'm not supposed to have any fun!

 

QUOTE(Snittens @ Jun 4 2007, 07:28 PM) [snapback]279695[/snapback]
It's not high on my list of annoying things, maybe midway. But, I do want to stop this constantly saying No to everything I say business. BTW, she does know how to say Yes and she will say that to things she definitely wants, like going outside or a snack.


Yup, just aphase that I found VERY annoying too!

Hang in there it does stop, eventually!

 

We are getting no, stop, and out. I hope it's a phase but fear that it will only get worse before it gets better (i.e. speaking in complete sentences to completely drive me over the edge). :lol:

 

It's a phase. We went through it with Ryan. Everything was 'No' even when he really wanted something. It is a bit annoying.

 

QUOTE(marieber @ Jun 5 2007, 11:24 AM) [snapback]280230[/snapback]
BTW, do you all get "No singing, mommy!" and "No dancing, mommy!" ?? It's like I'm not supposed to have any fun!


Actually, they ask me to sing. They say "Mama sing!" and I cannot sing at all They don't want me to sit down sometimes and get upset if I put my head down or close my eyes. No rest for me!

 

Yes, we went through the "NO" phase as well. I will tell you it gets better!!

 

QUOTE(marieber @ Jun 5 2007, 11:24 AM) [snapback]280230[/snapback]
BTW, do you all get "No singing, mommy!" and "No dancing, mommy!" ?? It's like I'm not supposed to have any fun!


My girls love to sing and dance but we sometimes get "No kisses!" They think it's hilarious to say that when we ask for a kiss.

 

Zoe went through a phase where everything was "No Way"! It was cute the first 100 times, after that, not so cute! Every now and then I will ask her something now and she will answer "No Way!"

 

Mine just discovered the word No, and they are using it all the time too! I usually ignore it the first time they say it, because they often don't mean it. If they persist (or have a screaming fit), I decide they do mean it after all.

Sarah has also discovered the joy of shaking her head No -- very vigorously. I think she likes the way it makes her hair fly out to the sides.

 

for us, this got a lot better once they learned to say yes (why does no come first?!?!?!?!?). the other thing that seems to make a difference is the tone in which i say something - i.e. if i ask if they want to do something in an excited fun voice, i'm more likely to get a yes . one thing i noticed recently is that i ask questions when i should be stating facts - i.e., asking if they want to do something (like brush their teeth or have a snack) when i'm really not going to let them say no - and i don't think this is good - i want to try to only ASK if they actually have a choice in the matter. kwim?

 

QUOTE(ruthjulia @ Jun 6 2007, 12:46 PM) [snapback]281675[/snapback]
for us, this got a lot better once they learned to say yes (why does no come first?!?!?!?!?). the other thing that seems to make a difference is the tone in which i say something - i.e. if i ask if they want to do something in an excited fun voice, i'm more likely to get a yes . one thing i noticed recently is that i ask questions when i should be stating facts - i.e., asking if they want to do something (like brush their teeth or have a snack) when i'm really not going to let them say no - and i don't think this is good - i want to try to only ASK if they actually have a choice in the matter. kwim?


I can understand the saying no when they haven't learned to say yes, and also saying no to a question, but it's the saying no to a statement that puzzles me. Like this:
Me "Time to get in the car!" (I say it all excited, even if we're just going to the store)
Bea "Noooooo" (she often says it all drawn out, not like she's upset, kind of sing-songy at times).

I don't quite get it, but I guess from the responses it's just a phase. She's not really being defiant or anything. Ainsley does the No to everything when she is upset i.e. "Do you want your bunny?" "NO!" so I put bunny away and then she cries "Bunny!"

 

I think there are two aspects to it. One is that it's a word that adults respond strongly to, and they pick up on this very quickly and use it a lot (even just for fun -- like Bea). The other is that so much of toddlerhood (it seems) is about being upset or unhappy for some reason that they can't express or even identify. Once they learn the word "No," it becomes a handy way to indicate that something is not right in their world -- regardless of what the actual question was that you asked them.