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Before your baby is a toddler, there will already have been many a time when he has said “no'” to you in actions, if not in words. The first word that some babies utter is “no”. They do need to be able to say it and to have it respected sometimes. It is first of all an expression of their need to protect themselves from what they feel at that moment to be an alien force, a hostile incursion.
You may feel otherwise; that it's all in the best interest of your baby for instance, that he should eat up his spinach, or what have you, without any further fuss. If you don't take his “no” into account sometimes, you're likely to force him to be either an over-conformer (who may break out violently some day when he has gathered up the strength) or unduly obstinate and not to be relied upon when it is really important that he should do as he is told.
In order to obey us willingly, a child must learn to trust us. He must come to learn gradually that although he may not understand sometimes why he is told to do this, or forbidden to do that, there is likely to be some rationale behind our