the "NO" sign for children.. and your sanity

Sometimes, for parents, one of the most troubling thought is of your child getting into your medication. What's worse, is having a bowel problem (in my case IBS) and having to put Miralax in your drink and worrying if your kid is gonna drink it. Well, I came up with a simple solution... let me give a little back-story first.

Last week, while out eating, Chloe pointed to the three arrows making a triangle and stated that the symbol meant "recycle". I was impressed that my four-year-old knew that. So, upon making some tea this evening and pouring in my Miralax, I got the bright idea to use a symbol that she could recognize meant "no". This was when my "AH, HA" moment hit. The "NO" sign... ya know, the red circle with the slash through it. I drew it on my cup and showed her, then said "this is mommy's cup with medicine in it. This sign means "no"". After that short discussion, I took her to the computer and showed her some google images of the "no" sign. I knew she "got it" when she saw a picture and said "no puppy dogs"- she looked sad about it, too.

Because of this, we have accomplished two VERY good things: Chloe knows what the "no" sign means, and she knows mommy's medicine drink is a "no, no".