Saturday, May 26, 2007

Latch on to the Affirmative


To go along with Habit #2 Positive Reinforcement I am going to try and not say "no" as much as I do to my children.


"My mother taught me some basic philosophies of rearing children. One is that you have to trust children. I tried hard never to say "no" if I could possibly say "yes." I think that worked well because it gave my children the feeling that I trusted them and they were responsible to do the best they could." ~ Marjorie Pay Hinckley ~


It doesn't mean I will be giving them free rein to do whatever they want; it just means I will let them do the - craft project, screaming contests, playing with mud - that they wish to do. As long as it's not something that will hurt them or someone else I will try to say "yes." Even if it means they will get their clothes dirty, or make a mess on the dining room table. I am also going to try and answer them with "Yes?" when they call me instead of with the annoyed "What?" I'm hoping with this small change I won't receive as many arguments when I do have to say "No."

Habit 5 Stick to a school schedule we did great this week!
Habit 4 Tickle the Ivory needs some work
Habit 3 Clean as I go - becoming a habit!
Habit 2 Use positive reinforcement with my children- habit
Habit 1 Exercise for 30 minutes every day - works better if I can do it first thing in the morning.

Do you have any habits you'd like to work on? Something you want to improve? Join Smart Habit Saturdays over at The Lazy Organizer.

10 comments:

Kassie said...

Love this! Especially answering with "Yes?"!! I need to try this.

Jen said...

I love this too. I need to work on this.

You have a beautiful family!

An Ordinary Mom said...

This is such a great idea. I have been trying to say "yes" more lately as well, and I feel like it is making a positive difference.

Enjoy your weekend!

Michelle said...

I really need to work on this. I have to continually catch myself. Good luck this week!

Rebecca said...

Great job on your habits! This sounds like some great advice. I may have to try this out myself. Of course with a 2 year old who wants to eat nothing but peanut butter I'm sure I'll have quite a few 'no' throughout my day.

Jennifer @ Fruit of My Hands said...

I like your title...I love that song!

Hope you & the babies get feeling better soon!

Christine said...

That's a great goal. I need to answer more pleasantly as well; maybe that will be next week's habit! Your children are precious. Thanks for visiting me!

Anonymous said...

That's a great quote from Sister Hinckely, thanks for sharing. I just came over from mommyknows. I totally agree with you here. It's so easy to just say no, knowing we have all the power in the world to enforce it, and our kids are totally dependent on us for so many things. But it's important to remember that power and to use it wisely. That is, to use it to empower them. Renewed commitment to this goal I've always had. Thanks!

Cathryn said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Hey, I'd like to write about this on my blog, but I'd like to include the source. Can you tell me where you found the quote? Thanks!