In this episode Carla Ward and Angelica Celinska unpick what are ‘yes spaces’, and in doing so they address children’s agency, risky play, knowing your limits, leadership and workplace culture, teaching children to respect boundaries, feeling control over your life, giving children the autonomy to know and feel who they are and so much more… Find Carla Ward at: https://elfoundations.com/ Listen to more: If you enjoyed this episode you might also like – Life skills over academic achievement with Zanna Clarke and Carmela Garcia Manas -  https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/life-skills-over-academic-achievement/ Episode break down: 00:00 – Why are we talking about ‘yes spaces’? 02:45 – What are ‘yes spaces’? 04:00 – A child hears ‘no’ 400 times per day! 06:00 – Encouraging children to take risks 08:00 – Judging risk and communicating risk 11:00 – Does the child feel control over their own life? 14:20 – Instead of ‘no’ ask ‘why’ – opening up conversations 16:00 – Fostering curiosity and independence by saying yes more 19:40 – Reflect on your own childhood – did you hear ‘no’ a lot? 21:30 – Guiding children through conflict 22:25 – ‘Yes spaces’ for adults 23:35 – Don’t let ‘no’ be your default answer 26:20 – ‘Yes but’ vs ‘yes and’ 29:00 – Where can you find Carla Ward? For more episodes and articles visit The Voice of Early Childhood website: https://www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com