Nein.
She has become a prolific user of the word
No.
There are appropriate ways to say it, and use it, we remind her.
And it doesn't mean you always have the choice - right now - to decline anything you don't want to do.
But it is such a good word to learn.
The ability to say “no” is often undervalued.
And she is learning how to say it in different languages, though her French pronunciation needs polishing.
Loud little voice calling for me. I scurry in through the thick dark, around LEGO pieces and bottle caps and scissors and tiny monsters and I pick her up, and she clutches me in the fierceness that comes only with relief from panic and whispers…
"Daddy, I am sorry for screaming.
I just got a little bit scared of the moon and the dark.
But now I will try and be brave with you."
“You are brave,”
I whispered, holding her just tight of crushing.
”I will try and be brave with you.”