Like most toddlers, my daughter would try every tactic to avoid sleep. “I have to go potty.” “I need a drink.” “I have a question.” “One more book,” or “I’m scared,” “tuck me in” are just a couple examples.
One night after my daughter was yelling several excuses not to go to bed, she started yelling, “I need my socks on!” My husband turned to me in bed and said, “when she’s a teenager I’m going to yell I need my socks on and I have to poop in the middle of the night to wake her up.” I laughed and said, “no you won’t.” But he is someone who definitely will (if he can wake up in the middle of the night to do it). However, sometimes I wonder if this isn’t such an absurd idea.
Today my daughter decided to make snow out of hidden styrofoam in a new Melissa and Doug word game. I was changing my sons diaper and came out to the dinning room to hear, “it’s snowing yay!” One of us was having fun.
I reminded myself that she’s only a toddler and one day I’ll miss her being little and took a deep breath. I told her she will have to clean up this mess. Of course I got the usual, “yes mommy” answer. And as with most times, when it came time to clean she did not want to listen to mommy. (Side note: why do kids always listen to their daddy right away? Is it the deep voice?)
I can imagine going to my grown up daughters home with styrofoam and playing snow but I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t remember and think I’ve gone clinically insane.
It took quite a long time to clean and I’m still finding the little white pieces stuff to everything, not to mention how long it took trying to get them out of her hair!
Just another day with two kiddos under 4! I can’t imagine having 3 or 4 under 4!
As I lay in my bed yearning to take a nap myself, my toddler is yelling I’m hungry! I’m tense waiting for my Son to wake up from the toddler screams of I’m hungry. Just so you know, we went out for breakfast and she ate 4 dippy eggs and 4 pieces of toast and a large glass of milk about an hour ago. She also got out of her converted crib to use the potty and get a stuffed animal already. She also yelled I’m hungry or I want to play! So this tells me she is again avoiding her nap. She doesn’t yet sleep the recommended 12hours at night and is exhausted and cranky when she protests her nap and doesn’t take it. This is how I know she’s not ready to skip the nap yet, I dread the day when I don’t get a free hour to breath (or shower, bathroom, eat, you know the basics).
Toddlers are stubborn negotiators too. Sitting at the table my daughter Frequently states, “if I eat 5 more bites I can have a yogurt,” or a similar statement.
The idea of what it’s worth standing your ground on versus giving in or compromising is literally kicking me in the butt now. At first I would give in and say okay let’s go get a snack or a drink or your stuffed animal and then let my daughter back to bed. Honestly, I’m exhausted emotionally and felt I’d rather not fight about it and if I get it for her she will go to sleep. WRONG! Payback is a bitch. I am now the parent who gives in and she knows it. I’m the weakling who she knows can be manipulated because I’m not consistent at all times. Yes, it is hard because my little bear now tries all tactics to get what she wants and whines and cries and wakes up my son which in turn is another reason I use to give in to the demands. Now I’m trying my best to stand firm and be consistent, but I have a feeling all toddlers love using their newfound skills to get out of nap time and eat less vegetables.
On a side note, she always comes up with something that makes me smile after she’s yelling for a while. She just yelled from her room, “I see a spoon but where’s my food?”
Fast forward 10mins later and she’s finally asleep, my son wakes with poop up his back. After cleaning him up I go to wash my hands and I dive to try and stop him from running into my daughters room. But alas, it’s too late, he has awoken the bear.
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