Should You Give Your Kid A ‘Yes’ Day Every Once In A While?

As the mum of two under-5s, I’m not particularly proud to admit one of my most-used words is “no”. Although I’m sure plenty of other parents will relate.

So, when I came across parenting creator Daisy Woods’ video about her ‘yes’ day for her eight-year-old son, it stopped me in my tracks.

The premise of a ‘yes’ day is simple: for one day, you agree to say ‘yes’ to your child’s demands. If they want to go to the shop in their pyjamas to get ice cream at 10am, it’s a ‘yes’. If they want to have a disco in the bath? No problem.

The idea isn’t new: parents have been talking about them on internet forums for years and there’s even been a film about the concept (Yes Day, starring Jennifer Garner and Jenna Ortega).

But admittedly I hadn’t heard of them before, and I didn’t realise just how fun they could be for both kids and parents, either.

There are parameters, of course. For Woods, there’s a maximum budget (in her case it was £50), it has to happen “within a reasonable distance”, and it has to be things that happen on that day, “so it can’t be like going on holiday or getting a pet”.

It looks like whatever your child wants it to look like. Before your ‘yes’ day, it might help to have a chat with them about what they might like to do, or eat, so you can plan accordingly.

The first thing Woods’ son asked was: “Can I have cake for breakfast?”. They then had some cereal, while they waited for their cake to bake.

“While we’re waiting, please can we play a game?” he asked, so they sat on the floor of their kitchen, playing a card game. Another request not long after was to go to the shop to buy “crafting supplies and maybe one toy, in our pyjamas”.

The day was very wholesome: they spent time together browsing shops, making things out of boxes, watching a bit of TV, going outside and getting muddy.

Other requests from the (very polite) eight-year-old included buying a smoothie, having chicken nachos for lunch, watching Traitors, and going to “the spot” (a playing field).

His verdict? “I think today was really good and it couldn’t have been better. I give it a million out of 10,” he said, before telling his mum: “I love you.”

According to parenting app Huckleberry, ‘yes’ days not only help foster connection between kids and their parents, but it also gives kids control over their choices (which can build confidence).

In the comments section for the reel, parents praised not only the idea, but her son’s choices and impeccable manners.

One respondent said: “I just love how the things he asked for weren’t extreme but just nice little activities.”

Another chimed in: “This video is SO wholesome! £50! He absolutely loved it – the crafting, cake, boxes – SO feel good! And he understood it too, he wasn’t asking for anything crazy mad. The rules were in place and it turned out a GREAT day! I want a yes day!”

“This is actually the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen???” said another commenter. “All of his requests were so wholesome and he was SO POLITE!! Nice job mum, you’ve got an awesome kiddo.”

The video has also prompted other parents to give their own ‘yes’ days a go.

One mum commented: “I’m doing my first ‘yes’ day tomorrow with my 6 year old, as a ‘last day of half term’ treat. Hope ours goes as well as yours.”