YourTango: 5 Things To Try When Your Kid Says ‘No!’ To Everything

What can you do when your kid says “No” repeatedly? What is your child really trying to communicate? “Recently, I was in my office with Kieran, an eighth-grade boy who was complaining about being bored after school to his mom, Tara, and me. ‘There’s nothing to do except gaming and you only let me do that for an hour. What else am I supposed to do?’ His mom gently suggested going back to some activities that had previously interested him — guitar lessons, indoor soccer, swim team, or improvisational theater classes. ‘No, no, no.’ His mom turned to me and said, ‘I used to do this to my mom. She called it ‘Shoot ‘em up, and knock ‘em down.’ There’s never a right answer.'”