Saying NO. Plainly NO.
It’s Christmas soon. And we say yes to everything and forget to enjoy the magic moments leading up to this lovely season. Time is right for a lesson of saying NO. A colleague told me how schools in Netherlands started teaching girls in year 3 to say NO. With amazing effects on reduced teenage pregnancies and rape – because the girls knew how to say no, and the boys knew that no meant no. So I’m gonna teach you. Choose a person you trust to practice this with. Look them straight in the eyes and say NO! If you look away, smile, add a giggle or any other distraction after, it doesn’t count: you’ve just negated the whole thing. Go again. NO! Keep practising, say it louder and with even more conviction: NO!!! If you need help, add a stomp of your foot while you shout NO! This is surprisingly difficult for many of us. Keep going. We did it with our youngest at some point, and she responded that they were not allowed to say no or talk back at an adult. That really scared me, if that is what authority Australia teaches our kids at school, we need … More Saying NO. Plainly NO. »