Any parent of a young toddler/child learns early on that saying "no," "don't," "stop it" too often results in what I call "opposite world." Parenting experts tell us kids do not hear the negative command but do hear the last part of the sentence. I'll share an example. In kindergarten, all the kids were getting ready to walk out of the building and past a wall with wet paint. Mr. Borino said to the kids, "Please don't touch the wall with your fingers because the paint is wet." Grant heard "Touch the wall with your fingers because the paint is wet." That is exactly what happened. That was one of the many phone calls I received from teachers in elementary school. I learned it is much more effective to redirect or distract a child when you are trying to prevent an undesirable behavior. I even took a "Redirecting Children's Behavior" course to get this essential parenting strategy to sink in. Still, I found myself reverting back to the infamous NO with poor results.
My son's second grade teacher was one of the few teachers who understood opposite world. Mrs. Nasset simply had a way with children. They were all called her "sweethearts" and each and every one of them would bend over backwards for her--including Grant. He adored her. She was the expert on redirecting and distracting. It was all done with a tremendous amount of love. I would never have believed this influence over the children but observed it first-hand during my volunteer hours in the classroom. We all loved Mrs. Nasset. She was the president of the anti-opposite world movement.
Photo above is our beloved Mrs. Nasset and Grant after their holiday performance
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