Sharing our stories.
Since I wrote the book No: Why Kids - Of All Ages – Need to Hear It And Ways Parents Can Say It, many people have shared their “ah-ha” moments with me. Moments when the messages in the book really hit home. Their stories paint a powerful picture.

A father shared with me that his 14-year-old daughter ran up a $140 phone bill and simply expected him to foot the bill. A teacher told me she spends more time disciplining her students than teaching them U.S. History. A father faced a violent tantrum when he asked his son to stop playing video games and come to dinner. A mother realized that she couldn’t say No to her kids because she didn’t know how to say No to herself. Ah-ha.

No isn’t just a word, it’s a parenting strategy.
These ah-ha moments are instructive to us as parents. It’s when we realize that the media messages promoting “More, Fast, Easy and Fun” are powerful. It’s when we realize these Yes media messages undermine the universal qualities that we would like to see in our grown children. Virtues like perseverance, patience, commitment, determination, and diligence. It’s when we realize these traits don’t come automatically; kids learn them. And they should learn them from us.

Say Yes to No.
Setting limits and saying No isn’t always easy. That’s why it’s so important that we support one another, share our stories, and work together to reclaim powerful strategies that help kids succeed. Minnesota Say Yes to No isn’t about telling you what to do or how to parent. It is about sparking conversations, in living rooms, parenting classes, PTO meetings, and book clubs across Minnesota, about the kind of caring adults we want to be and the kind of kids we want to raise. The book is just a starting place. It is through reflection and conversation with other parents that you will develop No strategies that work for your family, your community, your kids.