Toddlers and "No"

There are many parenting techniques and philosophies out there.  I'm not here to preach that my way is the only way, or the best way, or even the right way.. because we are all different as are our children.  I'm learning as we go.  I will never judge you, and hopefully you will not judge me.  I am open to constructive discussions though :)


I know there are parents who don't say "no" to their children, or not until a certain age.  Our daycare does not say "no", which can probably lead to confusion for our almost 2 year old since we do say "no" and have been saying it since she was rather young.


Side bar - I can't believe my baby will be 2 in a couple days... where does the time go?


Our thinking is that she's going to hear "no" all her life and we feel that being prepared to hear "no" at a young age, will make it easier come early adulthood.  It also makes certain things easy for us.  She knows there are certain things around the house she isn't supposed to touch, and other things that she's not supposed to do.

Is she perfect? Does she always listen? Absolutely not, but I can tell she tries hard, and as toddlers do, she also tries to test limits.  It can be cute... and it can be aggravating!

For example, she hasn't tried to open advent calendar doors without me, even though the calendar is something she can easily reach.  You can see my post on her advent calendar here.

A big struggle we have right now is for her to come to us when we ask her to.  I think it's an important skill to learn as we begin to use the stroller less and less.  It'll be vital in crowded areas, or when close to a road.  Especially since she loves to wiggle her hand out of ours.  She doesn't like to "come here", or "come here please", or "come see Mama".  She often runs in the opposite direction. Granted we are in the house when this happens, but I struggle with it.

I feel like she's been a little better about it lately, but it scares me still.  Does anyone else have this issue?  What strategies do you have if it isn't an issue?  Or what strategies did you use if your kids are passed the toddler stage?