Raising children often comes with having to say no to a lot of things. It is not uncommon for me to say, “No, you can’t use the oven,” or “No, you can’t sit in the car by yourself while I run into the store.” Sometimes children don’t understand that parents say no in order to keep them from harm. I make it a point to fuss over my child’s accomplishments, so that she can see life is not all about the no’s.
Recently, my daughter took the NaNoWriMo Young Writer’s Program challenge, and wrote a book in 30 days. The book was printed and published on CreateSpace. This was a big accomplishment, so I made a big fuss over my daughter. I bragged about her accomplishment in person, through emails, and on Facebook.

A few months before my daughter wrote her book, she competed in her first horseback riding competition. She competed in four events, taking first place in two of the events, and second place in the remaining events. At the end of the day, she won Reserve Champion. Not only did I show her how proud I was of her, I had an article published in our local newspaper with a picture of her and her ribbons.  

I am confident that when my daughter grows up, she will not remember all of the “no’s” I had to say to her. She will remember that I loved her, appreciated her hard work, and valued her achievements. She will remember the times I made a fuss over her, and will think back on those times fondly.