My two year old son has recently learnt how to say 'no' and he won't stop?

Question

What can I do? He says no to everything and it is driving me and my girlfriend crazy. He says it about 50 times every ten minutes, and when we aren't in the room he screams it so he can be sure we can hear him. Is there anything I can do myself? to make him stop?

Answer 1

I hate to say this but he learned that from someone. Do you or your girlfriend tell him no all the time?

Sometimes just changing how you say "no" to your child will help.

Examples:
I don't like it when you do that.
No thank you (you are still saying no but you are being polite)
Let's not do that now (redirection to something he can do)

For what he's doing now - I wouldn't ignore him - he'll just scream louder b/c he thinks you can't hear him. He doesn't understand the concept of ignoring. Acknowledge he's saying no. "Yes, I hear you don't want me to do this" "I'm sorry you feel that way"

Sometimes children that age say no, even when they really mean yes - they just don't know how to say yes yet.

Talk to him more - eventually he'll learn other words and "no" won't be the only thing he says.

Answer 2

First, be happy. He's totally normal. Haven't you heard of the "Terrible Twos?" He's learning how to be independent. It's an important part of his emotional growth.

Secondly, don't ask him yes or no questions. Tell him what you're doing - don't ask him.

That said, he'll still say no. Don't argue with him - just take him along. Humor him - rather than get mad.

And stop reacting - the more you react the more he likes it. No reaction - no satisfaction.

Answer 3

Remenber, children are like a sponge - they copy what they see and hear..........
He obviously hears 'no' a lot............. and I'd rather hear a child copy a parent's 'no' than for him/her to copy swear words.
Don't worry about it - he's just going through a phase.
Go to Toys R Us and buy some flash cards; alphabet letters, numbers, shapes and colors. Work with him on these and pretty soon he will drop the 'no' and be saying tons of other words.

Answer 4

Your child is going through a very important phase of development: Negativism.

He is learning that he is a separate person and he wants to be independent.

Using "no" gives him a sense of power and lets him affirm his individually and independence. He is establishing himself as a separate person with abilities and feelings of his own.

He needs to go through this to learn the rules of society.

You can design his environment so that he has lots of chances to feel independent (put shelves for books/toys and coat hooks on his level).

Try to give directions to him so the child can make a choice (this way he can feel as if he has more control) "Do you want the red cup or the yellow cup?"

Let him help you do things to feel "big." (put socks away, duct furniture, put toys away)

keep your close bond w/ him and show him love by being responsive to his needs, even during this challenging time.

Answer 5

Just get used to it. Be glad he didn't start earlier, my son was one. Just try not to give him much of a reaction because that will only encourage it. Kids grow up and realize they can protest things and have an opinion. There will be other word phases, one of my favorites was pee-pee poo-poo but the no will never really go away.

Answer 6

First off, stop using No with him. When he does something wrong, use things like "walk" instead of saying "Dont run", or "be careful not to spill" instead of "Dont spill that!". Be careful to always ask open ended questions that 'No' isnt an answer to.
When you do have to use the N word, use it in double, or say uh-uh.
He is experimenting with getting reactions, so tell him he isnt allowed to say no, and to always say no thank you if offered something.

Answer 7

Just ignore him, when you leave the room and he screams no, scream yes and just shut the door. When he starts screaming louder just turn on some music or tv until you can't hear him. I know it is annoying, the children I nanny for say no and their names A LOT, I just ignore them and they stop after a while.

Answer 8

I went through something similar with my daughter, and I am sure I will with my son. The best thing to do is IGNORE it. Tune it out. And encourage him to use other words.

Answer 9

This is perfectly normal.

Not only has he learned to say no, he has learned that he is an individual and saying no is one of the few ways he knows at this point to express his individuality.

It will pass.

Answer 10

Nothing you can do until he learns anotherr word. My ten month old learned to say stop. I know how you feel.