Say "Yes" to your kids whenever possible!

This nugget of wisdom came from Susie Allison over at Busy Toddler, and it makes for some sweet memories we might miss out on otherwise! Jack asked if he could make a "nest" on our floor and sleep there. First instinct was to say no, and put him in his bed. But... why couldn't he sleep there?

Susie says her guidelines for a "yes" are: if it's not dangerous, doesn't compromise family rules/systems, isn't expensive (in terms of time or money,) and isn't complex. So those guidelines rule out a lot of the requests I get from my three year old such as: creating a grappling hook and rappelling off the roof, getting a pet hedgehog, getting his own motorcycle/ATV, jousting with his cousins using homemade stick spears.

Those guidelines also leave a lot of room to say yes! Off the top of my head, these are some of the things we said "yes" to that might otherwise have been a quick kneejerk "no."

-We let Jack go outside all winter long wearing nothing but his undies and snowboots. It made him happy and he came inside if he got cold. This has the added bonus of teaching him to listen to his own body!

-We let Jack eat snacks in the bathtub. He got hungry and I didn't want to waste bathwater that was still warm. 🤷‍♀️ And, he did this one time and decided soggy peanut butter pretzels weren't that great so he never asked again.

-We let Jack play with a hammer. Dangerous? Could be. We supervised him of course. He "needed" the hammer to smash a big block of ice in the backyard. Bonus here is he is learning to use tools, and working on motor skills!

We still say no a lot. I think that's the nature of this time of life! But it has been both freeing and interesting to say yes a little more. So if this sweet boy wants to sleep in a cozy nest of blankets and pillows on our floor for a few nights, cool. He's only 3 for a little while :)

How do you feel about saying "yes"?

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