"NO!" (tee hee hee)

[BroccoliSpears]

DD is 19 months.

Favourite game at the mo is to do something naughty (eg find a really heavy toy and bash the dog on the head, or grab some coal from the fireplace) just to get me to say no. She squeals with delight, and wags her finger at me, chanting "NO! NO!" when I intervene.

I don't really get why it's so exciting for her! She'll even interrupt a lovely game that we're both playing to do it.

I tend towards fairly relaxed parenting, and it's only the biggies that I have to be consistent about (hitting, pushing, dangerous stuff) that I use Stern No for.

My "No" isn't even particularly exciting. I affect a 'bored, unimpressed but not to be moved' attitude, am calm, remove her from stoving in the dog's head, explain at her level that "we don't hit doggy" with unsmiling face on, and usually follow it up with a suggestion that instead we are gentle and stroke doggy, or say sorry to doggy. It's all over in seconds, the weapon is removed (which often really annoys her) and then we move straight on with a new game.

She LOVES it. Can I PLEASE have some thoughts from people who have been there, done that? Am I going about it right? What should I do differently? Should I just ride it out? Any tips? How did you deal?

I'm not normally anxious about stuff like this, but she's thwacking her friends on the head too and I feel that as a responsible parent I need to steer my little angel through this phase as efficiently as poss.

It's just what you say it is, a game... testing boundaries etc.

It will pass. She will discover something else soon!

Can't suggest anything other than what you already do... DS, now, when he wants to argue with me, pulls a really frowny face and says NO. It was only when he first did it that it occured to me that's what I look like when I tell him off .

My dd went through a phase of this. She also thought it was a great game. It did pass though, thankfully.

Now at 2.5, when she says no - she really means it and it's no longer a funny game...

notnowbernard is a BRILLIANT book. Good name choice!

Yes, you're right. It will pass as everything does. When? WHEN??

Ah, so it's not just my 19 month old who thinks that 'no' is the funniest word around! I'm trying to do the same as you BS, but DD is proving very resilient on this one.

I'm sure they all go through it lilred. Is that comforting?

Any other thoughts from anyone?

I think you are doing all you can and what you are doing is right. It will pass and probably relatively quickly if you continue to handle it in the way you describe. Have a gold star for good parenting (but only if can I borrow it from time to time until I earn my own)

I think you are right BS. They do all do it!

They definitley all do it - and as a nursery nurse have seen many parents driven to distraction because of it - to them no is just a word they've learnt like cat etc and they find it gresat that it makes such a huge impact, I tend to ignore any behaviour which has now become a game, or using different words, oh thats not kind poor ... we found one of our naughtiest boys at nursery responded really well to this eg he would empty box of bricks on the floor we would tell him of he got attention and the ycle went round then we changed it to he emptied the toys, we then sat down next to hm and went lets put them away and made it a game my turn/your turn, and lots of praise. Good Luck