Jes L is a mother to two girls, 11 years old and a 15 months old. While her first daughter was fairly easy as a baby, Jes is finding the experience with her second daughter to be entirely different - she is intense and refuses to listen to the word “NO”. Jes and her husband have told her numerous times not to do things like stick her finger in the electric socket yet she is determined to defy them. The word “no” is optional in Jes’s daughter’s eyes and she goes into tantrum - mode when she hears it too many times. She also loves to play on the edge by attempting to turn on the oven or open and close drawers (sometimes on her finger). Jes comes to us for the next steps on how to turn this around.

Today we talk about the word “no” and how we can actually switch out the word to something like “danger” or “pain”. We also talk about how you can help your child learn to do something in a safe way by practicing them together - like opening and closing a drawer. We talk about the importance of validating your child’s feelings, and expressing to them that you understand that hearing the word “no” is hard. It’s also about connecting with your child in a tone that makes them feel seen and heard.