How to Handle a 2Year-old's "No!"

Give him a 10 minute warning. Then when it is time to go, scoop him up and take him where he needs to go. Don't argue with him. Just do it. I'm all for giving choices so maybe let him choose which tub toys he wants for example. Still, certain things he won't have a choice about and he needs to know when you mean business.

Don't get into an argument about it. If you just ignore him, he will not get the response he wnats and will stop. I am also for giving choices, so instead of saying, "time for bath", try "time for bath, do you want to pick out your pajamas?" We give my son two choices as much as we can. Gives him independence. ALso if you don't ask yes/no questions, you can't get it as an anawer.

I act like they are teasing and say something like "oh you big silly guy, yes it is." It makes it more of a joke than a fight then. Then just pick him up and take him.

My son is 2 and has been doing that occasionally too. I have found two ways to deal with it. The first is by pretty much preventing the no by warning him with a 3-2-1 countdown. It's not threatening, it's more like "ok, we're going to turn the water off now. 3-2-1 off."

The other thing we do if he says no to something is just to say yes in a really goofy way. It may be it works because my son and husband are really goofy people, but it's hard to get upset when you're laughing. If we tell my son it's time to take a bath and he says no, we say yeeessss in a silly way and he'll giggle and we'll tickle him or something and pick him up and take him to the bath. It also helps if we give him a reason to reconsider his answer. Like saying "yeeeessss, it's time to play with your rubber duck."

Good luck. And remember, he's just trying to assert his independence and personality, so if you give him other outlets for making his own choices (Do you want to wear the black pants or the blue pants?) it might help too!

A.

To your example, I simply say, "Yes." firmly and pick my daughter up and head inside. Once I have her close I tell her, "Mommy said it was time to go inside now, you need to do as mommy says.".

Once inside I set her down and tell her to go to the bathroom (another chance to do as I say). She usually run right in happy to play in the tub. when she does I make sure to thank her for doing as I say and telling her that it makes me happy when she does what I tell her.

I hope this helps.

I dont know but I have the same problem, he says no even when he means "yes"! I do time out because I dont believe in spanking, and after a couple of times in timeout now I normally just have to "count to 3" and he stops by "2". But the no,no,no is driving me crazy--its like everything is a fight. So any other advice would be great.

First of all don't lose your cool, the children find that very entertaining.Tell him a second time and with more force in your voice. "Like Mommy said it is time to go inside now." , if that doesn't work try a stern look and repeat again. Then if you have to just pick him up and take him inside. Two year olds love the "NO'" word.It will be funny in a few years after the fact. Train him well now and you should have a Great teenager when that time comes.
Blessings, Debbie

I don't really think it needs to be verbally addressed. All that will really do is start an argument, and control battles with your children are the downfall of parents everywhere. Sounds like you just need to keep doing what you are doing, he says no and you take him inside anyways, sooner or later he'll get the hint and stop saying no to everything.

Instead of making a statement, give two choices. Both should be acceptable to you. For example, "Would you like to go in for your bath now or would you like to play for 3 more minutes and then go in for your bath." It gives the child the ability to make a choice which makes him feel like he has some control. Even though it seems like he is very little for this, part of his development at this age is his need to have some independence. Your giving him choices allows for that independence. Always make certain that the choices are acceptable for you though so that he doesn't "get in trouble" for making a different choice than you want.

You give him the chance to say no by telling him this is what he is going to do. Give him options so that he feels like he's in control. For example, when it's time to go inside to take a bath, tell him it's time to go in for his bath and if he would like this toy or that toy in the tub. If it's time for bed, tell him so, but ask him if he would like his teddy bear or his monkey (you get my gist). The more they feel like they have some sense of control the less likely they'll be to fight you.
Good luck!!

Just take him by the hand or pick him up and take him to do whatever it is you need him to do. You could simply say "yes". He will learn that it does him no good to say no very quickly.

I'm 42 with a 2 year old and a 5 year old. Keep in mind that he's saying "no" and getting it from somewhere. So he must be hearing it a lot. With both our girls, we've tried to attach an action to what we're telling them not to do. If they tried to go touch the stove, we say, "No touch - hot" or if there's something "up high" they want, instead of saying, "oh no...." we'll tell them, "Oh, that's a Mommy-do." We purposefully did that to keep that "no" from coming back to us, and it's worked pretty well, but we do get it back sometimes.

When you tell him it's time for bath, and he says no, we usually tease the kids and say, "I'm not asking you, I'm telling you....it's time for a bath." Actually, we've never had problems getting them to want to take a bath - bath toys are wonderful things....even if it's empty plastic cups or the little boats you get at the dollar store, they love taking baths. If you don't make it fun, they aren't going to want to do it. Now, if we tell them it's time for a bath, they yell at the top of their lungs, "Time to get WET AND NAKED!!!!" and run upstairs.

We've also tried the route of..."I know you don't want to take a bath, but we need to. Otherwise you'll get real icky and oh, you might even start to smell pppppp-uuuuuu..." and they'll giggle.

For what it's worth, and good luck!

It's a difficult situation to avoid when "No!" is such a common response to things kids do. He is modeling what he hears.
I suggest re-training YOUR responses to him. Substitute the word "Stop" instead of "no". Stop is an action word.
And to avoid the possiblity of a "no" response from him, give him a choice instead. "It's time for your bath. Should we swim like a dolphin or walk like a crab to the tub?" "Let's go to bed. Do you want Book A or book B tonight?"
Try to make the choices fun if you can.
Good Luck.

Just stop giving him commands that he can say "no" to. Give him choices so he feels like he's in control. "Would you like to brush your teeth or take a bath first?" "Do you want PB&J or turkey for lunch?" "Do you want to wear the doggy shirt or the football shirt?"

At that age for my son, choices were easier than direct commands. Not that what was expected was an option, just that he got to make part of the decision. For example, "It's time to go in and get ready for bed. Do you want to brush your teeth first or take a bath first." It seemed like having a little say in the matter made it easier. Somehow his mind got switched from stay out and play vs. take a bath to teeth vs. tub. Hope that helps.