The Silent Resolution

I've never been a fan of New Year's Resolutions. I actually made a resolution this year to have more fun, be more relaxed, eat more cookies - basically stay healthy. Part of that "staying healthy" routine was a silent resolution that I made but didn't really tell anyone about. It started over the girls' Christmas break and it went so well that I've decided to turn it into a New Year's Resolution. I am going to say "no" a lot less to my kiddos and "yes" a lot more. Too often as parents we react to our kids' requests by saying "no" so quickly. We don't even hear what they say half the time and then they end up protesting and asking "why?" because the "no" made no sense at all. Kids will ask for something if they think the answer is yes. When their request is denied, it throws their world off and a tantrum ensues. No one wants that. So why say no? A kid wants to paint in the middle of the day? What's the harm in that? Most of the time it's just me having to stop what I am doing to set it up, monitor the activity and make sure paint doesn't splatter all over the carpet. Well, I should be painting with them anyway. So, I say, Yes and get me some paints too! One Friday or Saturday the girls asked if they could watch a movie before bed. Typical response is no because I want to go to bed at a reasonable hour which means they should go to bed at a reasonable hour because I know they are still going to wake up early the next morning. But the next morning we don't have anything going on. It's a chore day. Why can't they watch a movie? So, yes. You can watch a movie. Now, I sometimes kick myself because it takes them an hour to decide on said movie, but when they do, we have fun. One night we went out to fro yo at 8 p.m., went to Michael's to buy some craft supplies that were on sale and came home and painted. The girls went to bed way beyond 9 p.m. but both said on the way home what a fun night it was. That was the greatest night ever. I was THAT parent who had their kid out late! So awesome. There are so many other examples of requests my kids have made - completely reasonable ones - over the last couple of weeks that I have said yes to. It's made our house healthier, more fun and a lot more predictable. There's no guessing what kind of mood Mommy is in, they aren't scared to ask if they can do an activity or play a game or read five books before bedtime. We just do it because we have a fun house now where the kids can do what they want - for the most part. As long as it's a reasonable request, my New Year's Resolution is a simple one - say yes!