February 5th, 2008
The North Wind Doth Blow
Every child goes through a phase where they say “No” to everything. The more “No”
they hear, the more vulnerable they feel, until they themselves begin to say “No.”
“But what about the wind?” she had asked. “Can the wind hurt you, daddy?”
“Go to sleep, honey,” he had told her. “When you wake up, it will all be over.”
Quotation from Antonio Hopson, The New Tempest
February 5th, 2008 at 1:47 am
No is such a negative word. I try not to use it that often, unless I absolutely mean it. The more the parents say it, the more negatively it will affect the child.
February 5th, 2008 at 5:14 am
Again these double bottoms: the robin captured in the barn (thinking of robin-fairytales to get asleep), Sera in a desparate situation thinking of robins and snow, and the little girl in her bed assumed to be able to have pleasant dreams. Makes me think of the Maslow-pyramid, according to which all these thoughts are impossible when you are deprived of the most elementary needs and scared. Great comics work again!
February 5th, 2008 at 6:52 pm
No is no, and yes is yes. Used when you really mean it, they have inherent power.
It is the abuse that makes them week and thereby dangerous.
February 6th, 2008 at 11:01 am
I also think that children say “no” when they discover that they have a will. Sometimes the only way to exercise it and practice using it is to say ‘no’ to those people who have such control over the little life.
I do agree with you though, that negatives are all around children and can stimulate negatives back. I always have seen my kids as human beings first and ‘mine’ after. They see me the same way and I heard my daughter tell an adult that she knows I’m her dad, but thinks of me also as a good friend.