I think I’m probably in the same boat as most mom’s here. I find myself saying “No!” to my kids about a hundred times a day. Now some are the absolutely necessary keep my kids from hurting themselves safety Nos. No, you can’t put that up your nose. No you can’t yank on the power cords. No, you can’t dance when we’re crossing the street. No, you can’t hit your sister. However some are the not so absolutely necessary, except perhaps to mom’s sanity, convenience Nos.
This week I decided to take the Procter & Gamble It All Starts with Yes Challenge and turn some of those convenience Nos into Yes! moments.
No, you can’t play with the crayons unless your sister is sleeping.
My four year old daughter loves to colour. So does her little sister. Baby-G loves to scribble on art paper, in colouring books, on the hardwood floors, on the doors and door frames and all over the walls. I have corrected her and shown her to colour only on the paper… but if I get distracted and turn away for even a moment she will go for the nearest blank wall and attempt to improve it. If we miss a crayon while cleaning up, she will find it late and get to creating. The solution? I took away all the crayons. Which is harsh and a bit unfair to my older daughter who really loves to draw and colour. So this week I gave them back the crayons, and they both had a blast. And yes, someone did manage to sneak some extra colour onto my hallway walls… but that’s what Mr. Clean Magic Erasers are for.
No, Mommy doesn’t need your help in the kitchen.
My four year old absolutely loves helping in the kitchen. The honest truth here is that having her “help” is more work then anything, as she usually makes messes and doubles the time I need to get things done. This week I made the effort to invite not only G-Girl, but also her little sister, into the kitchen to help me cook. We used a dining room chair instead of the table to bring things down to Baby-G’s height. We made banana bread, we baked cookies, and we had a blast.
No, you can’t sit in the big chair. You sit in the highchair.
Sometimes our kids surprise us, and they’re ready to move onto the next stage in something before we realize. Last week Baby-G started asking to sit in a “big chair” at the dining room table. She sees G-Girl doing it, and she wants to be like big sister. My gut reaction was, “Absolutely not. You sit in the highchair.” She’s only just turning two this month. Her older sister was strapped into a chair until she was a least two and a half. But then I stopped and I thought about it… and I couldn’t think of any really solid reason why this had to be a no. So I let her sit in the regular dining room chair, and she was so very proud of herself. Absolutely beaming and muttering “I big, I sit!!” She made a terrible mess, and since then I’ve been wishing I kept her in the ‘I can strap her in and she can’t get out of her chair between every bite’ high chair. But it was worth it to see that sense of pride and accomplishment in such a tiny being.
So to me, that’s what this challenge is all about… Listening to our kids, and turning No moments, into Yes moments. Allowing them to empower themselves, to learn, to make mistakes, and messes, huge bleeping messes. To allow them to feel important, to feel loved, to feel pride and a sense of accomplishment. And all of that is totally worth a little extra clean-up time.
P & G’s Family Care brands – Bounty, Charmin, and Puffs – along with Tide and Mr. Clean, invite you to take the It All Starts with Yes Challenge, and share the wonderful memories you create.
The Challenge: It’s easy — count the number of times you say ‘no’ in any given week or weekend, and then turn them into “Yes” opportunities. The result: more fun activities together such as baking, games, and arts and crafts!
Head over to the It All Starts With Yes Facebook fan page and create a YES! Pass, which is basically a coupon that promises your child you will spend some fun family time with them, for example by baking cookies. Next step, take a photo of your YES! Pass adventure and redeem it for a chance to win $10,000 towards a dream family adventure. Awesome, right? Also each time you create a YES! Pass you’re entered to win a YES! Kit filled with great prizes from the Proctor & Gamble family of brands. Or you could win one right here….
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| One lucky Maple Leaf Mommy reader will win a YES! Kit of their own (a $50 value), containing: 1 It All starts With Yes reuseable cloth shopping bag 2 kids sized aprons 1 adult sized apron 2 rolls of Bounty paper towels 1 tub of Charmin Freshmates 1 sample size bottle of Tide laundry detergent 1 box of Puffs Ultra Soft and Strong 1 set of Mr. Clean Magic Erasers |
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What a great idea, I'm going to do this!
Excellent post and great giveaway! You made me giggle with your list of "nos" ah the things kids ask for.
very cute post 🙂 Keeping track of my no's is going to be hard to keep up with..lol
Such a great idea. Love the pics 🙂
My tip – turn off the computer, phone, TV whatever is your distraction – give them your full attention, you won't regret it!
I've been trying to say yes more to those kinds of things
oh that is an excellent challenge – to say yes more than no can be tough some days! 🙂
We regularly have family game night to spend time together. 🙂
Great post. I use to be a no to almost everything, especially in the kitchen. But I've found ways that my kiddos can help me since they both want to. I have my DD6 put the silverware back in the drawer and I have both kiddos hand me the cups from the dishwasher to put away. With the laundry she loves to match socks so I let her do that and she has a blast.
I said yes to baking a cake togetherthanksflower_child_23(at)hotmail(dot)com
I said "yes" to allowing a sleepover and adventure day.mommakoala(at)cogeco(dot)ca
I said yes to building a fort out of sheets and pillows.
We love to bake together. It is a great way to sneak some math skills in & the bonus is a snack for later.gibberish (Julie G.)
I said "yes" to going to playgroupsweetpanda2010 at gmail dot com
I said Yes to walking out the Breakwater with my grandkids!RAFFLECOPTERNAMEisAnne Taylor
we did some cooking together. They helped mommy make some cookies.
My son comes home from school and asks me if I'm ready to lose at xbox 🙁 Needless to say, we play video games together.
I said YES to making homemade playdough. Was a huge mess but my kids had a blast making and playing with it.
Well it's my niece & nephew and I hardly ever say no except to painting! If I win a clean up kit I will say yes and go from there, yikes!
I said YES to my son tonight for letting him sleep over to a friends!ksceviour at hotmail dot com
I said YES to talking with my chatty daughter after her bedtime came and went…. hey, it's the weekend and usually we touch on so many subject by the time it's way past her bedtime.
My son and I baked chocolate chip oatmeal cookies together this Tuesday. They were really awesome and didn't last very long!rafflecopter name Jules A
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I love saying yes to reading. A great way to end the day.P.S. Cute photo of your girls.
Recently my daughter wanted to help make banana bread. And I said yes. janicebudgellpollard at hotmail dot com
I said yes to fingerpainting! Messy but fun :)breej23 at hotmail dot com
making lots of cookies!freebiel0ve@yahoo.com
I loved this post. It makes us aware of how often we are negative. Instead of saying NO all the time, I give my kids a choice of 2 things. That way they feel in charge and they're not hearing NO from me. I started this when they were a year of age and it has continued. Kids are more cooperative, that's for sure.
coreybrennan26@hotmail.comWe try and make time for our kids everyday – set aside esp. for them. It's a typical night for us to play a board game or wii together, do homework together. My wife makes it her proirity for us to eat at the table, together, no exceptions, at least 3-4x per week.
YES YES YES,I WOULD LOVE TO WIN THIS PRIZE PACKAGE.
My kids like to shovel snow. Really. they are 2, 3 and 4 (my 14 and 17 year olds do NOT like to shovel snow) and they beg and beg to shovel snow when its been snowing. so yesterday i said yes and we bundled up and built a snowman, and i let them shovel snow til my youngest had had enough and wanted to come back inandrea_hockeygirl@hotmail.com
Said yes to going to the park after schoolsilverneon2000 at yahoo dot com
I said yes to going Swimming
going swimming
I said yes to going for more walks.cardshark42(at)hotmail(dot)com
My tip: make one day on the weekend family time and make sure that it's your priority – don't schedule anything else that day. Also have the kids plan it with you. I said yes to volunteering for my son's snowshoeing field trip with school. It was fun!
I said "yes" to finger painting in the house. :)swishy_1 at msn dot com
i said yes to more painting!penguinjo99 at gmail dot com
I recently said yes to making a mud pie in the backyard. That was sure interesting!
https://twitter.com/#!/CharCharVidal/status/17796…
I recently said YES to melted crayon art.
Reading books and going for walks together. I've said yes to going to the swimming pooljmbarata21@hotmail.com
I said yes when they wanted to go to the park
Tyler (My 17 month old) Vaccummed the floors this morning. it took twice as long but he loved it
I said yes to playing Lego with my son. It's his favourite thing to do and I love sharing it with him.jentam777 at gmail dot com
I said yes to finger painting!mikeg70 at telus.net
like this one it is a grest give away
Yes to cooking and painting walks and watching movies with my kids!
I said YES to making pizza from scratch with my boy!Thanks.
I said yes to baking cookies with my son. They turned out well!!bluebelle0367(at)hotmail(dot)combelinda mcnabb
Well I don't have any children yet.But for myself I've recently been saying yes to more activities that involve exercise like taking trail walks and spending more time outside.I also love to bake and cook.So when I spend time with my nephew I try to get him to bake with me.bd_657(at)hotmail(dot)com
Well my kids are grown but i have some lovely grandchildren and I finally broke down and said yes to my 4 year old granddaughter and allowed her to do a makeover….LOL Quite interesting it was
I said yes to baking cookies.
Set aside time each Saturday to go for a hike so there are no other distractions and it is great family time.
I said yes to a messy st patrick's day craft
Today I said YES to MARIO PARTY 9 for the Wii – which was just released on Sunday. My kids have been waiting for it to come out and have been working hard and saving their allowance for the game. They were about $20 short so I just let them get it anyways. They couldn't contain themselves they were so excited. abrennan09@hotmail.com
I recently said yes to going outside to play, something I often say no to because of inconvenience.
I said yes to going to two hockey games on the same day. I was cold and uncomfortable, but it was worth it every time my boys looked up and beamed at me.
Wow! Great idea!!! I say yes to any art projects
I said yes to finger painting with shaving cream! So fun but sooo messy! Thank you for the awesome giveaway! – lablogs@yahoo.com
Painting- I wanted to say no, but today I said yes.
Lately we have done alot of painting in our house. I say yes to water paints and acrylic paints!
we like to bake cookies togetherlmurley2000@yahoo.com
A day at the Park with my gradson is always fun:)WandaJean1564 at yahoo do caWanda Jean P
Wonderful Childhood memories are created from baking together. When your children are quite a bit older they will remember those special times.