A big thank-you to all who responded to our Say Yes to No survey. Say Yes to No events have spread across Minnesota communities and into other states.  We hope these conversations bring parents, teachers and community members together to discuss how using No will mean success for their kids. As with any movement, we are anxious to hear your stories - stories of your events as well as stories of how using No has impacted you or your community. Thank you to those who have responded.

Here’s an excerpt from one of your stories:

“Before walking out the door to Dr. Walsh's speaking engagement - my 7 year old daughter asked if I was going to that "no talk" she had seen advertised at school; I replied, yes. She responded that I didn't really need to go, because I already said "no" ALL the time already. ….  It was not until I was introduced to Say Yes to NO that I was able to put a reason or name to it like "delayed gratification." I just know that as a child hearing "no" most of the time gave me the internal fortitude to grow up and become a successful person. I always took "no" as a challenge to work harder to earn the "yes"; whether it be saving my money for that one item I didn't get for Christmas or putting myself through college by working full time. …since I was paying for college, I actually went to class, studied and received good grades. …So my resume look pretty good going into early adulthood which allowed me to start at a great company right out of college (when many of my peers were working restaurant jobs for quite awhile - and these were kids whose parents had always said "yes.")

“Even though my husband and I can financially say "yes" all the time, I am hoping that we can find a happy medium so that my children too can take ownership in some of the "things" they save up for and maybe actually appreciate them as well; but more importantly, so that they can become patient, responsible and happy adults!”   - Parent

I talk about restoring the balance in raising our children. Using the parenting tactics that work from No can help restore the balance in our More, Easy, Fast and Fun culture.

Click HERE if you would like to fill out a Say Yes to No survey.