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Dutchess_III's avatar

Did you ever come to the decision to start telling your kids "Yes!" when ever possible?

Asked by Dutchess_III (46830points) October 4th, 2016

This is the first half of a post I made on FB today. I’ll post the second half, which relates to my grandkids and an incident a couple of weeks ago, regarding a check, further on down, if the opportunity comes up:

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When the kids were very small, at some point I suddenly realized that the word “NO!” was coming out of my mouth a LOT. It was to the point that if they opened their mouth and inhaled to say something I’d snap “NO!” before even hearing what they were going to say!

Finally my smarter self pulled me aside and said, “What is wrong with you? Why are you doing that? It’s ridiculous. Let’s look at it from another angle….listen to them first, then say “YES!” as often as you possibly can.”

My Smarter Self is so smart. I adopted the philosophy of listening to them and then saying “YES!” whenever I could, and it had a wonderful affect. The kids were happier and more….trusting. I was happier and I didn’t feel so beleaguered.

Then those days sped by and I don’t have to give my children permission to do anything anymore. They can have all the offspring they want.

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Fluther thoughts?

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4 Answers

Cruiser's avatar

lol! This reminds me of the first time I pulled a yes routine on my oldest when he was 17. All of these I always said no to…

Dad…can I have $20.00? Sure! The wallet is on the counter take what ever you need.
Dad…can I stay out an hour later tonight? Sure! Stay out as late as you want.
Dad can I take your car? (Even though he had is own) Sure! Keys are next to the wallet.
By now I was sure he was concerned or at the very least confused because he then asked…
Dad….can I drive your car through the back wall of the garage?....my answer was Sure!

I guess that is what I get for being a smart alec around my kids…they get to give it right back!

Dutchess_III's avatar

Lol! I know you’re a great dad!

What about when he was little? And can I have $200?

Cruiser's avatar

@Dutchess_III when he was little I didn’t have $200.00 to give up and he was happy as all get out with the $1.00 the Tooth Fairy left him for his tooth. Each dollar I starched and ironed so it looked just minted…they loved it!

Dutchess_III's avatar

LOL! OK, now you’ve tied in with the rest of the story, as I mentioned in the details:

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When we were camping, on Saturday, as Chris and Fam were packing up to go home, I sat down in the RV to write a check for the camping fees.

Two of Christopher’s offsprings, Adrionna and Zoey, wanted a check too.
I started to say, “NO! Of course not! Don’t be ridiculous!” Then, outta NOWHERE, my Smarter Self body checked me (BAM! “Oh, hai! Haven’t heard from you in a while!”) I gave it a half a second of thought and said, “Sure!”

I cut two checks. I put their names, big and clear in the “payable to” line and filled out the dollar amount.
Then, in the date, signature, memo lines, and in big letters across the top I wrote !!!VOID!!!!VOID!!!!VOID!!!!VOID!!!!VOID!!!!VOID!!!!”

I was going to make it out for one million each, but then my Smarter Self thought there might be someone utterly stupid enough to cash them and, like, I don’t have that much money in my account and I’m pretty sure my ODP wouldn’t cover it AND I’d get hit with $70 in over draft charges and then I’d go to jail. Plus there ain’t no 2 or 4 year old got no bidness walking around with one million in cash. So, I backed the amount down to $10 each.

Well, the girls felt like they’d won the lottery! They were SO tickled! It left me grinning and feeling great!

You done good again, Smarter Self. I <3 U!

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