Yes Ma'am

We have been working really hard on manners lately. It comes out of her need to 'get the last word' or just always say something back whenever we say something. At first her vocabulary was very limited and she would respond to pretty much everything with 'no.' To her, there were times when 'no' simply meant 'uh huh'. It doesn't really sound so cute though. Later, 'no' was taken over by 'why'. Me: Daddy is coming home from work, AJ: why. Me: pick up your toys so we can go jump on the trampoline. AJ: no. I finish this tower first. Hmmm. Does she really want to know 'why' or mean to answer, 'no'. I don't think so.

So, after a few battles, we have settled on the southern, "yes, ma'am". Just think of the difference. Me: brush you teeth, its time for bed. AJ: yes ma'am, I need to put my silly bands on first. Yes, she is still retaining some control and not hopping to it at the snap of my fingers, but I can work with that. It just sounds so much more respectful even though her intent is really no different. I guess I have found with all my kids (even the students that I taught) that it works so much better to teach them what to do instead of trying to teach them what not to do. Now, when AJ answers with 'no' or 'why' when it is not an appropriate answer I just tell her that she forgot her 'yes ma'am' and tell her let's try it again. I will repeat my part and she will answer with 'yes ma'am' first.

So on the way to school today I reminded her to use her yes ma'ams with miss J and mrs. E because it makes them so happy to hear it. She answered me, "yes ma'am momma." I, of course told her how nice that was blah, blah, blah. Then AJ told me, "Mom, that was my last yes ma'am. I don't have any left for miss J and mrs. E." She plays this game with hugs and kisses and says she has to go shopping to get more... It was really just a ploy to get out of using her manners at school, but I had to laugh because it was quite ingenious.