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5 Ways To Say 'No' To Your Toddler

Children will take along them all the childhood basics that they learn. Knowingly or unknowingly, this will reflect in their personality as well. It is natural that your toddler will have a tendency to demand for anything that comes across them. This is the time when you have to act smart without hurting your toddler’s feelings. If you are a parent, definitely you will be looking for discipline measures that will help your children come out as perfect personalities. Then, here we suggest the simplest way: ‘Say no without saying no’!

If you are successful in letting your toddler understand that you have specific reasons for denying their demand, you are near to the last step of the ladder. But, practically, it is a bit difficult, especially if you have a hypersensitive child. If you are one among those parents who worry about ways to say no to your child, we are here to help you. Go through these easy and effective ideas that will help you in saying no to your toddlers without making the scene messy.

BEWARE: GIVING TOO MANY CHOCOLATES TO YOUR TODDLER?

5 Ways To Say 'No' To Your Toddler

I know you like it, but...: You can try supporting your toddler's demands while explaining to them the reason for not responding positively. You can also ask your toddler to explain the reason to some other child if the same scenario repeats later on.

Try stop signs: One of the most effective ways to say no to your toddler is by using the body language. Train your toddler to understand the meaning of your ‘stop signals’. This will let you stop your toddler from getting into a difficult situation that may force you to say no.

Not too often: Avoid saying no too often to your toddlers. If you find that there will not be problems in granting any of their demands, respond to that positively without them forcing you. This will help them understand that you will consider their worthy demands, while denying only limited worthless ones.

Creative substitutes: It will be always better if you can use any substitute sentence instead of going for a clear-cut ‘no’. You can say ‘dirty, it will make you sick’, ‘not good, will get you a better one’, or ‘it’s not for children’. This is one of the ways to say no to your child without actually using the word "no". It is a better option to make your toddlers comfortable without hearing a no.

Divert their attention: One of the best possible ways to say no to your toddler is not to say it. Try to divert their attention to something more interesting. Toddlers have short-term memory and they will forget about their previous demand, once they get involved in any other activity.

Story first published: Friday, February 7, 2014, 16:19 [IST]
Read more about: toddlers parenting tips