On saying “no”: The Next Generation

A recent conversation came to mind apropos of threads at Pandagon and Hugo Schwyzer’s blog.

Eldest Daughter: Mama, I think I might have been a little too blunt at school today.

Me: OK, what happened?

ED: Well, see, this boy asked me if I want to go out with him–

Me: You’re too young to ‘go out’ with boys.

ED: Mooooom! I know! Anyway, so I told him, “No.” That was too blunt, huh?

Me: You didn’t say it in a snotty way, like “ew, no way, not you,” right?

ED: No.

Me: Then there’s no problem. It was a yes or no question. I guess “no thank you” would have been a little more polite, but just no is fine.

ED: Okay….really?

Me: Really.