No plus no equals no, All nos lead to no no no
Finger pointing, eyebrows low, Mouth in the shape of the letter O
Pardon me -- No! Excuse me -- No! May I stay? Can I go? No, no, no
Do this -- No! Don't do that -- No! Sit, stay, roll over, No, no, no
Red means stop. Do not go. No, no, no
(They Might be Giants, No!)
It's just a little trick for these so-called terrible twos. At our house, we make a game out of No. Whether it's me having to lay down the law or Maeve wishing things in her life were otherwise, we have fun with No.
It started when she refused to eat any more dinner. When she was really all done, and I was trying to cajole her into a bite of, say, chicken, she would start shaking her head in an exaggerated way. I called her big no-no. Now when she does that, I ask, is that a big no-no? And she shakes her head so crazily I worry her brain is going to come out her ears. And we giggle, and I know she really is done.
Then I discovered this song on a children's album by They Might be Giants, which coincidentally is titled No. Maeve adores it, she calls it no song. I bust it out sometimes after I've had to say no to her for some small infraction or impossible wish, and it makes us giggle and forget the constant trickle of negativity that comes from the interactions of Baby Bossypants and Mom, the Real Boss. And it works.
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| Giving me her NO face |
We have a 'no' game with our little one too! He get's on a 'no' streak, answering 'no' to every question, but he does it cutely, with a rising tone, so it sounds more like a question than an ultimatum.
ReplyDeleteWe treat him like an oracle, asking a wide array of questions: Is the sky purple today? Is military intervention in Syria a good idea? Should daddy always listen to mommy? Was hiring Manning a good move for the Broncs?
No, no, no comes the replies... although eventually we ask a question that just receives eerie silence. We take that to be the magic 8-ball equivalent of "ask again later."
Awesome, I love it? I can just hear K saying that, too. Nooo?
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