See You In The Morning When the Sun Shines On...

My two younger kids are 14 months apart, Irish twins.

When they were little and I tucked them into bed, they would come up with all the usual stay up longer tactics. "I'm thirsty" "Just one more story" "Why is grass green", the usual.

Sometimes, when I was at wit's end, I'd yell and say "That's it, goodnite".

I felt bad that this was the last thing my kids heard from me before they went to sleep.

We had a family talk one evening about how we could all work together to not piss mommy off at the end of the day, because, if mommy ain't happpy, then nobody's happy.

We came up with a signal, a way for them to know that enough was enough.

The signal was "See you in the morning when the sun shines on the sidewalk", because that didn't just mean that the sun was up, it meant it was time for good little kids to get up out of bed and safely wake up mom.

And there was peace in the valley.

Comments: 13

Heather W. Jul 30, 2007, 7:11pm EDT

That is a beautiful way to keep the peace at home :)

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April J. Jul 30, 2007, 7:14pm EDT

Wow, I wish it was that easy! I've tried to talk to my kids about making bedtime easier, but when push comes to shove and they just don't want to go to bed I always end up losing it. Walking them back up the stairs 50 times every night will do that to a person...lol. Still, I may try the "talk" again, this time with a "signal" like you mentioned!

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flit . Jul 30, 2007, 7:18pm EDT

I used to take mine for a 'walk around the block' if they wouldn't go to sleep ... a very looooooooooooong walk!

sometimes, my oldest would get almost all the way around ... like STEPS from home... and would be crying and carrying on about wanting to turn around and go home ....and I would turn around and we would go all the way back the long way. LOL

after a while, all it usually took was the ~offer~ of a walk around the block... took a bit for the novelty to wear off ...but eventually it worked

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April J. Jul 30, 2007, 7:21pm EDT

Hmmmm...we have a bike trail here, I might have to try that Flit! My kids seem to have neverending energy, but maybe given they've already been up all day the walk will drag the rest of their stamina out of them.

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flit . Jul 30, 2007, 7:23pm EDT

that was exactly the plan... to use up whatever energy they had left LOL

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Andrea "slackermom" R. Jul 30, 2007, 7:31pm EDT

We just eliminated bedtimes. People go to bed when they are tired, children included. That works for us because we homeschool and the kids don't have to get up at a certain time. I don't suppose it would work for most families.

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sharon SugarMomma is a wise woman, Jul 30, 2007, 7:32pm EDT

Andrea - Bless you my daughter, I'd rather eat soap.

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Andrea "slackermom" R. Jul 30, 2007, 7:36pm EDT

Sharon, there are plenty of days I'd rather eat soap too. Like every single Monday.

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Ellynn (minor shoe minion) A. Jul 30, 2007, 9:13pm EDT

I let my kids stay up as late as they want-on the condition that they not get on Mommy's nerves. Works fairly well, they are trying so hard to be quiet so I don't send them to bed that they pass out! My oldest is usually asleep by 10 at the latest, though my toddler will stay up quite a bit later. The two simply have different rhythms. A is up at 7, while D will sleep till about 10. Which is good because he is the one more likely to get up and get into things if I don't get up before he does.

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Heather * Jul 30, 2007, 10:14pm EDT

Sharon that's too funny! My mom and I used the word "Wednesday" because her favorite saying was "I'm gonna knock you into next week!" Never to me but often to our neighbors and whenever she was mad, instead of cursing she'd say out loud "WEDNESDAY!!!"

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Marie L. Aug 1, 2007, 1:30pm EDT

That's a great idea -- might have to try that with my little ones (20 months apart). They are both major stallers about bedtime -- they are both night owls at heart.

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Missy Cline Aug 2, 2007, 5:02pm EDT

what an excellent way to handle them !

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See You In The Morning When the Sun Shines On the Sidewalk.

Comments: 13

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