Robert has found several new bedtime stall tactics. He first started asking for water, but when I started planning ahead (already having water by the bed) so that he couldn’t get out of bed and follow me to the kitchen, he began getting creative. First, he started asking for a snack right before time to fall asleep. The first time, I obliged, thinking he had never asked for one before, so he must be hungry. I now try to consistently ask him a little while before bedtime if he’d like anything to eat so that I can feel confident that he is not hungry when he asks for food at bedtime. He often asks for a specific stuffed animal or a specific blanket (the one Grano made is his favorite) – all in hopes that he can put off sleep just a little bit longer. His newest tactic involves his bedtime stories.
We usually read one or two books to Robert before he goes to sleep. He then asks us to “talk about our day,” when we quickly summarize the events of the day. We then say our prayers and go to sleep. Sometimes, when he’s having a tough time settling down, he asks for us to tell him a story. Lately, he has figured out that this is yet another way to stall, so he has requested stories more often. The story he requests from me is the “Boo Fishing” story, where I tell him of when I was a little girl and Boo took me fishing. If he is making the request to his daddy, he asks for “Daddy and Anna Hunting,” where James describes and early morning duck hunt with our lab, Anna.
This weekend, I was putting Robert down for a nap and he requested a story. So, I gave him a new story: a modified version of the Three Little Bears, modified because (1) I couldn’t remember all the parts of the story – it’s been a while; and (2) I remembered right as I got to the end of the story that the bears scare the mess out of Goldilocks. Can’t be telling that to my two year old, who is currently afraid of monsters, sharks, whales, and the “cowboy dog” from Toy Story (if someone can tell me what a Cowboy Dog is, I would greatly appreciate it!). Soooooo, the end of the teeny kid version? Goldilocks stands up, hugs the bears, and says thank you for letting me stay in your house!
Sunday night, Robert’s stall tactics reached a new level. He again requested the Three Bears story. As I started telling the story, he said, “But I want to be in that story, too!” In the interests of not getting into a conversation that would re-stimulate my sleepy child, the story quickly became a story about a Papa Bear, a Mama Bear, and a Baby Robert Bear. As I was telling the story, I was approaching the part about Goldilocks sitting in Baby Robert Bear’s chair, and Robert said, “No, wait! But I don’t WANT anyone to sit in Baby Robert Bear’s chair!” So, Goldilocks went from sitting in Mama Bear’s chair to just looking at Baby Robert Bear’s chair and saying it sure looked nice!
When she got to the porridge, same story…. So, Goldilocks tasted the porridge and said it was JUST RIGHT, but she’d better leave it for Baby Robert Bear. And as for the beds, she totally skipped BRB’s bed and slept on a mat on the floor! Whew! Baby Robert Bear was amenable to Goldilocks giving him a big hug, so the new revised ending stuck.
Monday, James was asked to tell the story about Daddy and Anna going hunting. James started the story, and wouldn’t you know it?!? “But I want to go hunting with Daddy and Anna, too!”
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