Praise Queen Elanor!!!!

NO! NO! NO ELANOR! ELANOR NO! NO MAM! I said NO!

"No" is the word of the year. I fire it at my one year old about every five minutes. I feel like a NO siren. When they start moving around, touching, exploring, or just THINKING about stuff you will learn many ways to say NO!--I really enjoy saying her full name instead of no sometimes and now I finally understand why I sit straight up when I hear mine. :)

So it was pretty simple at first. She got it. It was great. I would simply watch her and say "no" when she was about to hit the danger zone. I was a parenting goddess! Then the tables turned. My little angel became a tyrant. She laughed when I said it. She ignored it and turned on the dishwasher anyway. She froze for a second, looked at me, and continued to turn the oven knobs. She heard "no" and charged for whatever she wanted. SMART KID!

So like any brilliant mother I started trying different approaches as follows.....
-restraining her arms and saying NO while pointing at desired object (she hates that)
-spatting the little hand (I hate that)
-saying NO and moving her to another room (the distraction method)

none of these worked great as toddlers are determined and stubborn and they are testing themselves, not just you.
My brilliant sister-in-law Stephanie sent me an article regarding praise and discipline. Basically, it said to manage the tone of your "NO!" by how important it is. If she throws food on the floor, that's a mild no-no. If she is turning the knob on the gas stove that's a BIG NO! The urgency in your voice is noted because she doesn't understand what I'm saying.
Also, it said to show her consequences of her actions and have her help you "clean it up" or "put it back" and PRAISE HER WHEN SHE DOES SO. It was hard to remember to do this, but the results have been AMAZING!!!!

related link:
http://www.babycenter.com/0_the-discipline-tool-kit-successful-strategies-for-every-age_1475318.bc