you know the kind...the ones who say "No!" to their toddlers all the time?

2 examples: We were at Connor's swim lesson and they have some caged parakeets in the front waiting room for kids to view. The mother of an 18 month old kept saying "Don't touch the cage, Brandon!" I swear she said it 30 times.
Ummmm...it's called "Putting something IN his hands like a small snack to keep his hands busy while looking at them?" ARGH.

Other example: Play group
This lady hosted it (I belong to a local mom's group) and was CONSTANTLY telling her 22 month old daughter, "No don't get into that. No, you can't have that. No...no...no..." ggrrrr...it drove the rest of us nuts. I felt so bad for this little girl! No wonder she was trying to get into everything! It wasn't even dangerous stuff either. She just wanted to touch things. That's what kids do, you know? The mother also seemed a little weird too. Very abrasive and just disattached to the conversations going on around her.

That must be so exhausting, as a mother, to say "no" all the time!

By Dawnk777 on Saturday, July 15, 2006 - 03:07 pm:

I've heard those mothers yelling at their kids, all the time, out in public. Or the "you can't go to the playroom, until you eat," but the kid doesn't seem the least bit interested in eating."

If the kids hear "NO!" too many times, they aren't listening anyway!

By Reds9298 on Saturday, July 15, 2006 - 07:01 pm:

Ditto!!! Going to the grcoery store is like one big frustration. I saw a mother with 2 girls, one maybe 4 and one maybe 2. The 4 yr. old kept telling her that she HAD to go potty right away. The little girl really looked like she was in need. The mom had a full cart and just kept saying "No, not now, no not now." All I was thinking was wouldn't it be easier to just go to the bathroom instead of listening to her repeatedly tell her how badly she had to go? When you gotta go, you gotta go!

Another one: Doctor's office, 2-3yr. old, NOTHING brought for him to do. Not one thing. He's into everything and the parents act like he's the one with the problem. HELLO! When you have absolutely nothing else to do, crawling under chairs and playing in the water fountain is your only entertainment.

I would be exhausted saying "no" all day long. I never did that when Natalie was smaller and into things. One "no" and something else in her hands to play with. It worked like a charm, and seems so obvious to me. How hard is it to pack a few toys, or a crayon and paper...something!

One evening at dinner out, Aaron and I were talking and extending our dinner longer than usual. Natalie started to get ansy (as expected). She tore up a paper napkin for 15 min., happy as could be. Who cares? We cleaned it up, we got some more talk time, and it didn't hurt a soul. Gotta get creative!

By Mommmie on Saturday, July 15, 2006 - 09:11 pm:

I learned real quick that if I said, "No, don't touch that" or whatever after the "No, don't..." all my son heard was "Touch That!"

By Angellew on Monday, July 17, 2006 - 09:23 am:

I know exactly how you feel! I was spending the day at the pool in my condo and one woman, who is never really there, came in with her three year old (my DD is 4). She NEVER stopped! Isabel, don't run, don't splash, stay on the stairs, don't move, watch out for the ants, don't yell... it was never ending! My DD was just sitting there with the strangest look on her face, like, "Mommy, how come she can't have fun and is getting yelled at!" I mean, there is a limit between safety and overbearing! We were the only ones there, so the only people they would have been bothering were their own mothers! ARG!!!!

By Dawnk777 on Monday, July 17, 2006 - 05:51 pm:

Yikes! How frustrating!