Sometimes the best answer you can give your child is ‘no’

Don’t make the mistake of thinking you need to grant your child’s every wish. Saying “no” can teach your child an important lesson: We can’t always get everything we want, the moment we want it.

As much as she wants it, your child does not need the designer jeans some of the girls in the class are wearing. She does, however, need the following important parts of family life:

A clear understanding of the behavior you expect.
A clear understanding of her limits. Yes, she can go out with friends on some weekend nights. No, she can not do the same on school nights.
The chance to help her family by doing age-appropriate chores.
Reminders from you that although you won’t always say “yes,” you will always love her, no matter what.

Reprinted with permission from the February 2005 issue of Parents Still make the difference!® (Middle School Edition) newsletter. Copyright © 2005 The Parent Institute®, a division of NIS, Inc. Source: Peg Tyre, Julie Scelfo and Barbara Kantrowitz, “The Power of No,” Newsweek, September 13, 2004 (Newsweek, Inc., 1-800-631-1040, www.newsweek.com).