I've learned a valuable lesson in parenting today...the power of chocolate.
The boys have been sharing a room since Friday night, and it's going 'okay' at best. And by okay, I mean they have been falling asleep (at least) 2 hours later than normal and waking up at the same time every morning. They're exhausted. Ethan and I are exhausted from repeatedly going in the room to tell them to stop talking/playing.
At dinner tonight, I told Evan I was going to come into the room at 9:00 tonight and, if he was asleep, I would let him have a piece of chocolate at breakfast tomorrow. I'm desperate. Last night it took until 10 PM for them both to fall asleep and I was so exhausted that I fell asleep about 3 minutes after that.
It's not even 8 PM and Evan is already asleep. Eric is still awake, but in bed and quiet and--most important--not disturbing his sleeping brother.
Thank you chocolate. Thank you.
Update: As of 8:30 PM, BOTH kids are asleep. And then Evan fell out of bed, got a knot the size of a golf ball on the back of his head, had a night terror, but is sleeping again. Oy.
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Good thinking. I bribed my kid with a piece of dried pinapple this morning! It did the trick - he stopped complaining, put on his jacket and RAN to the car!
ReplyDeleteOK, so I want to hear how many chocolate cake breakfasts it will take to make this a "successful habit"?
ReplyDeleteThe chocolate bribe has already become ineffective for tonight (had to be asleep by 8 PM).
ReplyDeleteIt was just a piece of chocolate, not cake. Bill Cosby (and Ethan) would tell you that chocolate cake is a perfectly acceptable breakfast though...it has eggs, butter, milk... :-)
Yes - and DAD IS GREAT...BRING ON THE CHOCOLATE CAKE....
ReplyDeletehmm...that sounds good!