Do You Have the Luxury of Saying No?

It’s OKAY to say NO!

‘NO,’ probably the word (or sign) modern parenting styles advise you not to introduce to your newborn child. As I don’t understand the reasons behind this theory nor do I have the power to implement this method, my 10-month old nephew has learned how to say no.

I love kids for their no-fudge given attitude, among other things; while I may find myself or other fellow adults being cautious of ruffing some feathers, kids freely refuse to deal with people they don’t wish to interact with and deny unsolicited offerings from (usually) well meaning relatives or acquaintances.

Your ego can get offended by a little child’s no; however, if you take the time to understand the simple gesture of protecting one’s own boundaries, you may start to feel proud of the kid standing up to a big adult. While observing my niece and nephew over the past 5+ years, I have become aware of the strength a helpless baby develops in its early stage and it’s marvellous.

Side note: The little guy is sitting in my lap as I write this; he is trying to make his contributions to this blogpost inspired by him by banging his tiny hands on my keyboard.

The ability to refuse an advancing gesture or refusing a gift does not come as naturally to adults as it does to a child, which is a little sad, in my opinion. I remember having numerous conversations about the importance of saying no on several occasions. I have to admit that most of these conversations involved me being angry on account of a fellow woman who couldn’t say no to someone who took something from them under the pretence of giving something to them.

There have been some times where people have used no to avoid sharing themselves with me and it did not feel nice. Despite being at the receiving end of a resounding no a few times, I believe it is a powerful tool that we all need in our lives to prevent others from taking advantage of us.

I am glad our little angel has learned this early on. I endeavour be curious about the little no(s) coming from any child and to do my best to protect children’s little armour against unwanted and potentially malicious offerings of this world.

I hope you may be able to take inspirations from the simple no of the children around you and better protect your own boundaries.

Imagine the legendary song NO by Meghan Trainor is playing in the background as you read my thoughts.

Photo credits: Cottonbro Studio.