No David? No Thanks!

No David? No Thanks!

Kids test. Yeah and so…

I got the book No David to check out myself. It’s a quick read… like less than 20 words. Kids are said to love the pics and I agree. I send my compliments to the illustrator. But thats the sum total of my kind words; the message of the book is crap.

What a huge teaching opportunity is lost with this book. Yelling at them does next to nothing. Hearing their name next to a negative over and over builds nothing. It’s the same reason we never tell a customer no in business, instead we give them data and observations and we show them options. Telling them you love them is fine. Hopefully, that’s a message that is repeated dozens of times each day, no matter what. What is missed is the opportunity to let the kid reason and understand. To Engage Cooperation with a child, I think there’s a better way.

Baseball is a great game.

Baseball is a great game.

Here’s a page of No David! and how I would handle it.

  1. Baseball is a great game played on a grassy field. When the ball is hot there is room for it to fly. When it lands, it lands on dirt, or in a leather glove!
  2. I have never seen a table or a vase on a baseball field. What are they doing here?
  3. Baseball. Outside. Now.
  4. When outside sports are played inside i get worried my mother’s old clock will be broken. We’ll always be late.
  5. Dear Kid Inside, We are waiting for you outside where there is sunshine and grass to play ball. You can beat on us all you want. Love, your yard, dirt and grass.

Anyways, this works for me. How about you guys?