Bedtime is suppose be a very special time but at times can end up being a challenge. How you deal with those challenges can set the mood for the rest of the evening.
For the most part, my kids have always been very low maintenance at bedtime. Once they were tucked into bed for the night, we could usually count on them staying in bed and going to sleep rather quickly.
There are times however, when they will think of any possible excuse to get out of bed just one more time. And that "just one more time" might even turn into several times. It's amazing at how many excuses a child can come up with in order to get out of having to fall asleep. Afterall, if they fall asleep they might miss something exciting. :)
For the most part my husband and I find these excuses and delays rather entertaining. As soon as we hear footsteps in the hall... we wager on who it's going to be and joke about what the reason is.
Here are some of the classic excuses that our children have used and still use on occasion:
- I'm hungry
- I'm thirsty
- My tummy hurts
- I need to go potty
- What was that noise
- Tomorrow can we ____
- The dogs are being to noisy
- Is there an owie on my ____
- I'm scared of the dark (there is a nightlight by their door)
- I can't get to sleep (no wonder you can't, you aren't even in bed)
What excuses do you children use to get out of having to go to bed?
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Comments: 47
hehe, I remember those excuses....Mine, even though she's 10 now, always gets hungry right at 10pm (Summer bedtime)..and you would be amazed at how long it takes her to brush her teeth..She should have the cleanest teeth in the U.S
Oh yes, the delays before bedtime are just as entertaining! LOL!
You are lucky Bridget. LOL. It is a battle part of the time with my son who fights sleep even though he is totally exhausted. The slightest little thing literally gets him fired up and it takes forever to get him settled down again.
Stand your ground on this!
Maybe putting him to bed before he gets to that point would make a difference. I had that issue with a little boy that I was a nanny for, his parents were having fits. I found that if we put him to bed just a 1/2 hour earlier, it made the world of difference!
I wish it was as simple as that. This is something that a lot of parents with special needs kids go through, some try all kinds of treatments and medications to help, which sometimes does the trick and other times doesn't.
That's true with many kids. Luckily sugar doesn't have that effect on my kids. Or it could be because we limit the amount of sugar, sweets and junk food that we give them!
I've heard that's not true about sugar, but I think that study is flawed. LOL
I think every study ever conducted is flawed! :)
hungry, thirsty, tummy hurt and I can't sleep
My daughter has tried the classics - hungry, thirsy, not tired, scared of the dark. There's never an issue with her tending to a physical need (once, then back to bed) and I don't care if she goes to bed with her light on, I turn it off for her later. (I can't give her a nightlight, babies in the house who would play with it.) Since those didn't "work" she gave them up after a few times. We still get "But I'm not tiiiiiiired" though.
Why don't kids like to go to bed? Not having children, I don't 'get' that, so I'm curious. Is it just that they want to play? I am sure that I had many of these excuses when I was a child lol. I am sure I was a holy terror for my parents. However, now as an adult, I find any excuse TO go to bed LOL.
Part of it is wanting to play, part of it is separation anxiety-would you want to be alone in a dark room all night?, and part of it is them asserting a tiny bit of control, which they don't have much of in their little lives!
Thanks Alicia, that helps me understand a lot better! Not being a mom yet, sometimes those things elude me. Now I understand and it makes perfect sense! Thank you so much for taking my question seriously, I know it sounded silly :-)
Not silly at all! I was at a loss as to how to get my girls to sleep through the night, so I actually read several books on the subject. I now consider myself a semi-expert in kid's sleep! And, my girls take two naps for a total of three hours a day, plus they sleep 11-12 hours at night, so I think all the research worked!
Pamela, I know where you are coming from. I was actually an angel when I was little. I did sleepwalk, but I always went to bed without a fight, had no trouble with no lights or just a night light. I never cried or fought about bedtime. I went to bed when it was time and the most I would need is a nice reminder that it was time and off I would go.
So now that I have kids I have a very difficult time understanding the issues. It's VERY frustrating! I still have problems with it every night.
Your question wasn't silly at all Pamela! I see that it has already been asnwered! :)
My girls, at the tender age of one, are master manipulators at nap and bedtime. They are already saying things like "Drink water?" "Knee hurts!" or, their personal favorite "Change diaper?". They know the diaper request always works, because I will at the very least come in and check it!
Hungry, thirsty, what time is it? Can we read this book (picks a BIG book)
Baby Boo won't get out of my room. Mind you there is a gate up where the dog can't get in there and mind you the dog is usually laying at my feet lol
Mine use those excuses and than say they need a hug. How could I say no? So, I started sending them to bed an hour earlier. That way hey would go through excusesandstill be in bed on tme. Even if they can't sleep, I tell them they have to go to their bed, say their prayers, and than start thinking of a story. They usaully fall asleep. The deal is they have to tell me thestory the next day. I have some corky stories this way. But I love the time I am able to spend with my kids on a little more one on one.
my daughter was told of growing pains and why we get them well at nite her bone were growing to loud
That is too funny!
That is too cute!
My kids don't really have any excuses. They know that if they give a hassle about bedtime, then they will go to bed earlier the next day. We do have big issues with Sky sleeping through the night though, as he is currently going through a phase where he wakes up with night terrors several times each night. I think it might have something to do with the fact that he is about to become a big brother.
I've started doing that recently J. It's half an hour earlier for major trouble. It's 15 minutes earlier for a light fight.
My sister Shelley and I were pretty good about going to bed. The problem was we stayed up all night laughing, talking and just carrying on.
My mom used to yell so loud! We still talk about that to this day.
Good times!
Only have one at home now. She's 40, retarded, goes to bed on her own. I or my wife can open a cupboard in the kitchen and she is out of her room in a flast. I can call her at the top of my lungs and she doesn't come.
Excuses that Zachary uses:
I'm scared of the dark, or there are monsters. When he does this he SCREAMS at the top of his lungs, even when the lights are on. I never turn the light out until he is in bed and ready, and he is fine when he is in there safe and sound but before that he goes NUTS. I have no idea how to handle it. Sometimes it gets ugly.
I'm not tired! And to that I say TOO BAD! It's your bedtime and bedtime is when you go to bed- no exceptions!
I'm hungry and/or thirsty. I allow drinks of water but no food after nine.
The monster thing--get a large spray bottle and fill it with a mixture of 1 part chamomile tea to 3 parts water. Label it "Monster Spray". Tell the child that when he goes to bed, you are going to spray every place that he has ever seen a monster (let him direct you to those spots while he stays in bed) while you spray a very fine mist on those areas. Tell the child that this spray is very, very special--that it will only work if sprayed and left undisturbed until morning and that it only works once a night. If he gets out of bed, the spray won't work any more that night. Make a production out of the spraying--use a flashlight so he can clearly see all the places empty of monsters when you spray and make sure you walk out backwards, spraying in front of you as you go.
It wouldn't hurt to give him a small cup of chamomile tea with a dollop of honey in it about 1/2 hour before bed as well. It's a calming tea and very safe--Sleepytime tea (NOT the Plus variety, that's a stronger version) no caffeine in it. Or some other warm liquid, if you'd rather--warm milk is also known for soothing and producing sleepiness at night.
A combination of aromatherapy, child psychology and natural sleep inducers....
My son will sometimes find another stuffed animal somewhere in his room, and insist that it was in his bed and we forgot to kiss it good night. We kiss every stuffed animal in his bed good night when we tuck him in. He'll also ask us to come help him say his prayers again because he forgot someone. He's also really bad about getting out of his bed, and then not being able to get his covers fixed exactly right, so he wants someone to come back in and tuck him in again.
He knows that he can mess around and we'll come back in again within the first 10 minutes, but after that, we're done! He sleeps with a water bottle in his room, and has no desire for food after brushing his teeth, so at least we don't have to worry about those things. :)
"I want to comment on just one more picture". Oh wait, you're talking about the kids.
hahaha Love it JoAnn.
I know all of these excuses by heart Bridget. I'm right there with you. ha ha ha
One of the many joys of being a Mom! :)
I don't know about kids, but I often find my husband playing a computer game at 3 AM, and then wondering why he coudln't wake up the next day. LOL
My favorite delay tactic is the endless discussion about what are you doing, how long will it take and when are you going to come lay with me. Sometimes it never seems to end. I think it is really cute that they are afraid we are doing something so excited and they might miss it. Oh please. I am folding laundry, cleaning the house and making lunches. I would rather go to bed than do all that.
My youngest says noggin isn"t over yet so it can't be bedtime. Noggin used to be over at 3pm and now it is 24 hours a day.
Dejavu. My kids could always come up with some reason to stay awake. My husband used to love to tell the kids stories about when he was younger. During the day the kids would avoid those stories but when night time came they would request those memories. You can imagine who won on that one.
I don't have any human children, but, if I did, I wouldn't have a set bedtime for them. I've neve believed in bedtimes, and I never adhered to one as a child.
Children will sleep when they're ready, and they are fairly good at getting the amount of rest that is right for them.
"Children will sleep when they're ready, and they are fairly good at getting the amount of rest that is right for them."
this is the best joke I've heard all day. My gut still hurts from laughing.
Heather, I don't mean any disrespect but...I had no idea how badly children need limits--and how much parents need their children to have a regularly scheduled bedtime...until I had a child.
My son's top excuses:
I need a cat.
I want the other cat.
The cat won't stop playing with my toes.
Why can't I have a cat?
I want the dog.
The dog won't stay with me.
The cat opened the door.
The television's too loud.
Why'd you turn the television down? I was listening to that.
...and so on.
Linda, none taken. I just know that I did fine without a bedtime as did several of my friends.
I'll bet you will change your mind if you ever have kids! Kids need limits, rules AND bedtimes!
Actually, I'm not even certain why I waded into this. It's not like I'm ever going to have (human) children; the white picket fences isn't in my future, and it's doubtful that any of my friends will ever make me an "aunt."
Mine have THE SAME EXCUSES haha ;o)