On an episode of "Modern Family," mom Claire schools her brother-in-law, Cam, on parenting. See, Cam and Mitch have decided they're not going to use the word "no" with their young daughter, Lily, and instead "redirect" her to other activities when she misbehaves.
"No, no, no, no, no. We're not going to do that today," Claire says when Lily begins flipping light switches on and off repeatedly.
"Actually, Claire, we're trying not to use the word 'no' so much," Cam says. "We just read a book that said children learn to rebel against that word, so we redirect her into a new activity instead."
That plan sort of works right up until Cam's hand is stuck in the garbage disposal and Lily's working her way towards that switch, too. Only then, with his digits on the line, does Cam use the word "no."
The point to all that is this: "No" is a complete sentence. And it's one we need to start using more frequently. Especially when it comes to our children.
On Saturday, The Wall Street Journal reported that parents don't know how to continue affording their children's taste for expensive sushi dishes.
Talk about a first-world problem.
Gen Alpha has acquired a taste for shrimp tempura and salmon nigiri—and parents are paying a heavy price. 🍣 https://t.co/civqzuheTB pic.twitter.com/OzF1eFORbL
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) February 21, 2026
Grace Embury says her worst financial decision was introducing her kids to sushi.
She’s half joking, but Embury sighed when she listed the foods Elliott and Charlotte, 8 and 6, regularly request. “Salmon rolls, tuna rolls, tamago,” said the stay-at-home mom in Calgary. “They are like savages, they just want to eat it all.”
Elliott and Charlotte would have sushi every day if they could, but Embury has limited their intake to weekly outings, where bills can reach $150. Embury, 43, started them on sushi because it was quick and convenient, but now she regrets turning them into tiny food snobs.
“Sometimes I’m like, ‘How about chicken nuggets or grilled cheese?’” she said.
“I love sushi, I don’t like it,” Elliott said when asked what he likes about sushi. He enjoys the flavor, he said, but he’s especially impressed that his food at sushi restaurants travels on conveyor belts.
This is an absolute failure of parenting, of a culture that makes parenting unnecessarily burdensome, expensive, and exhausting. There is no reason why these children should be dictating what they eat.
At the risk of sounding like my own mother — dear God, help me, I'm old — the parents are the drivers here. Mom and Dad, you set the menu. You buy the groceries. You pick the restaurants. If your kids are dissatisfied with hot dogs, macaroni and cheese, or pizza, tough cookies.
That's what's on the menu, and your kids eat it, or they go hungry. I promise you that hunger will overcome their stubbornness. I know because I've been there. I've had picky eaters, and my eldest loved sushi from an early age. But sushi was a special occasion meal, like his birthday. It was not a daily, weekly, or monthly thing. It happened once or twice a year, if that.
As to the picky eater? We just stopped catering to his needs. You either eat what's served, or you don't eat at all.
And guess what?
He ate. What we served. And I didn't have to go bankrupt doing it. On top of that, it makes your life as a parent so much easier. Many people are put off from having kids because — across the political spectrum — it's portrayed as a slog. The Left tells you parenthood oppresses women and your ability to have a career. The Right condemns you if you do anything outside the home. And the common thread through that all is you have to cater to your child's every whim, follow every new parenting trend, and let your life be dictated entirely by your offspring.
You are the parent. Your children will grown and adapt in a home where they are loved, where discipline is consistent, and where there is structure and routine.
We're seeing the rotten fruits of generations who haven't been told "no," who haven't been taught delayed gratification, discipline, and gratitude. And it's causing major problems at home, in school, in the workplace, and politically.
Schools can't discipline kids because it's "racist," while it lets class after class grow up without the ability to self-regulate their emotions or behaviors. In the workplace, bosses get called on the carpet for holding their employees to even the most basic of standards. For crying out loud, Starbucks baristas lost their minds when the company that signs their paychecks demanded they wear jeans and a black t-shirt.
And politics is downstream from all of this. That's why in New York, Seattle, and elsewhere, Democratic Socialists are gaining footholds. They promise to give voters a treasure trove of "free" stuff without the responsibility that comes with earning a living, paying rent, buying groceries, etc. Their promise is instant gratification, even if — as Mamdani has made painfully clear — all the promises of "free" stuff come with an eye-watering price tag.
The only way that stops is if we return to a culture where we remember "no" is a complete sentence, and where we use that word liberally in childhood. You will be doing your child a favor: you will be raising a kid who understands what it means to earn something, to delay gratification, and to enjoy special moments. You'll be raising a kid who will know, from early on, that the world will not cater to his demands and he will be better off for it.
And you'll be doing a favor to the future of your nation.