Hey Kate, what is “Mommy Says ‘Yes’ Day”?!

Oooooo this is going to be good. I love Mommy Says Yes Day. It’s also known as Yes Day, Parents Say Yes Day, Daddy Says Yes Day... whatever you prefer. In our house, Matthew requests that he not be involved in the mayhem so it’s “MSYD” for us. Haha!


This was born from a post my friend made in the summer of 2012 about giving her kids a “yes day”. It just so happened that 8/31 was coming up and that happened to be a Blue Moon and what better day to have as a “Yes Day”?! We were still feeling the sting of the divorce and my kiddos needed a day to be carefree and super happy.


I explained it to Isabelle and Carlee who at the time were 6 and 3.5. Isabelle was completely shocked and it took a good few hours for it to sink in. “You’ll say yes to... anything?” she had said hesitantly.


Carlee needed no pause. “CAN I HAVE ICE CREAM FOR BREAKFAST???”


“Yes.”


“CAN I USE A LOLLIPOP FOR A SPOON?”


“...yes”


Isabelle came in with, “can I have peas for breakfast?”


“Yes”. Fuckin weirdo.


Then she stuck a toe in the water, “Maybe I’ll have a lollipop after breakfast.” There’s my girl!


Peas and ice cream were had and the day progressed.


Eventually, we developed two sets of rules.


“ABC and LMNOP”


Always
Be
Considerate


And Nothing:
Loud
Mean
Naked
Or
Pricey.


Those two rules pretty much give me the flexibility to veto anything really awful. It’s inconsiderate to sit and watch tv all day. It costs money to buy any kind of candy they want so I just make sure my cupboards are stocked with thinks I’m okay with them gorging on. It’s one day. The sugar-desires always start out huge but sugar isn’t a forbidden fruit in our house and they self regulate really well. They usually ask for a bizarre dinner and for one night, I am a short-order cook but it’s worth it.


The first one was SUCH a success that we decided to make it a thing that happened every Blue Moon. Here we are 7 years later and my kids have yet to miss one... they know that the next blue moon is 10/31/20 and I’m a bit nervous about the sugar on that day but again, they self-regulate fairly well.


In the past, we’ve had pre-planned outings and that helps with the SUPER crazy requests inside my house.


Really though, this is an exercise in stopping and slowing down as a large, busy family. Saying “yes” to the most absurd little things that would normally exhaust me (“Can I play with play doh 10 minutes before bedtime?!”) bring so much joy to them. Even the things that would maybe embarrass more civilized parents (“Can I wear my pajamas to the mall?!”) make me smile because these little monsters are SO happy skipping along looking like a ragamuffin. I have in the past steered them towards things I wanted to do. For example, Baskin Robins has “.31 scoop day” on the 31st of every month and Blue Moons often fall on the 31st so that is super handy.


My advice? Don’t think. Just do it. You won’t regret it and you’ll collapse after bedtime with a full heart.


Here are some highlights:

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