Keeping up with consequences and “no answers”

Hi Nicholeen,

Sometimes when my five year old is a little sleep deprived or if we’re off our routines it seems like he just starts flying through little “No answers”. Little things like
– don’t stand on the couch
– don’t go behind the couches
– no throwing stuffed animals in the kitchen (for fun)
– don’t eat your baby brother’s food
– don’t put your arms under the table cloth
Etc

They are things I’ve said 1000 times before, but he’s 5, and sometimes it’s obvious he’s doing it intentionally to not accept a no answer or consequences, but that’s not what I’m talking about for this question. I’m just talking about a million little “No answers”.

I will tell him in the moment it’s a no answer and he will stop, but then it inevitably happens again hours or days or weeks later.

It’s the kind of thing that I feel like should be an understood “no”, but trying to keep track of the million understood “no’s” to actually sit down and pre teach or put them in our family standard seems like it would be absolutely endless.

I think this is where high vs low tolerances maybe comes in because these behaviors are not so much bad as inconvenient, and it’s only the “not accepting the no” across time periods that’s the problem.

Should I expect a five year old to remember a large list of no’s?

My other problem is that he does so many “no’s” in such rapid succession I feel like I just cannot keep up with giving corrections. In the process of one correction he’s already done another “No” that now needs a correction.

I don’t think he’s being defiant, but I know I need to be predictable to help him see that these “no answers” are standing.

I want my expectations to be age appropriate. What advice do you have?