There's a new book coming out in April by Betsy Brown Braun titled, "You're Not the Boss of Me: Brat-proofing Your Four to Twelve-Year-Old Child".
This morning on Mix96.5 on the Mix Mom Squad I had the opportunity to ask the author a couple of questions.

My first question... "What is the biggest mistake parents make?" She said parents make the mistake is being afraid to tell their kids no. Make sense doesn't it? She elaborated and said parents should say yes before you say no. That confused me and I asked for an example. She said
you can say "You can watch TV after you do your homework"- that's a yes with a no.

I asked, "When do you start the brat proofing?" She says you start at two-year-old.

She added that raising a brat means you are raising a child who is not self-reliant and not independent. I asked if parents are at fault because so many hover and don't let their kids experience things on their own and she agreed that parents contribute to the problem.

I use this method with my 4 year. I always give him a "you can have your drink back after you eat some of your food" etc. But lately he has been using this back against me. Telling me things like "if you give me my drink I will eat my food" LOL, I don't back down from him but it is a fight! And it cracks me up that he is smart enough to use my own methods against me. I find myself trying to figure out new ways of making sure he understands how you reap what you sew. Hopefully this process will get easier in the future!

I definitely think consistently is the key. It is hard to be consistent and say no when "yes" is the easier route especially in a grocery store with screaming kids. But, I do think that is the best way to make them really think you are serious and respect what you say.

Ok, the yes with a no sounds good but when these children are adults, the world won't disguise a no with a yes. Children need to hear the word NO. I tell my girls...I'm not interested in what's fair, I'm interested in what's best. Sometimes I say no just for the sake of saying no because they need to hear it. The world doesn't revolve around them and they need to learn that at home. Learning to deal with a NO answer builds character which is something our society lacks in a great deal.