BellaOnline Forums Family Early Childhood It's not fair

"I hope that by trying to rid this phrase, and ultimately this concept from my daughter's vocabulary, I can teach her to take responsibility to try to identify what she truly wants and needs and ask for it constructively, and/or to express how she feels about what happens to her." - from article When Kids Say It's Not Fair

Wow! What an excellent concept! That really is the basis of good communication and something that even many adults struggle with - identifying exactly what it is that you want out of a situation and expressing that clearly.

Thanks, Elle! Sorry it's taken me so long to actually respond to this. That's exactly what I was going for in that article. And now, we've expanded this in our house to include "No" and "I don't Want to" and "Not Now" as well. It doesn't always work, but if she's not going to listen to me, I expect from her a reason -- what she wants to do instead or when or how... not just a blanket refusal that gives me nothing except disrespect.

When I can get her to do it, it works really well. I don't mind her (sometimes..lol) having an opinion about what I want her to do, but it has to be about that, not just about not listening!

Nicki :-)