Recently, a member posted an email about a problem she was having trying to get her three year old son to sleep in his own bed through the night. She described a familiar situation we can all relate to.
Group members were quick to help and offered ideas and suggestions, which included:
- use of night light;
- rewards for making it through the night in his own bed;
- telling your child that the "help you sleep fairies" will leave gifts under their pillow when they go to bed and stay in bed by themselves;
- creating "monster spray" from lemon juice and water and every night walk around the child's room and spray the "monster spray" wherever evil monsters lurk.
The group thought these were all great ideas and extremely creative. My favorite however, was a poem that Mindi, who recently created the Teach Any Time blog, offered.
She told us her story...
"One night as I was tucking the kids in, I told my son that if he was brave and stayed in bed all night like he use to, I would write a poem about his accomplishment in the morning. I was really just grasping at straws here. Amazingly it worked! He stayed in bed and first thing when he awoke in the morning he asked for his poem.
I made up something silly and he loved it. I just spouted off something like: Wow, you did it, you stayed in your bed. If I could manage, I would stand on my head. I would shout from the rooftops and spin on the floor until you started laughing and begging for more.
Well, it was just silly ramblings but he loved it. I did this for about a week and then I told him I was going to write him an official poem and print it out for him because now he has shown how brave he is and stays in bed every night."
This is what she wrote:
Jacob the Brave
I'll call you by name
Since you found courage
Things haven't been the same
No longer the boy
Who is scared in your head
Jacob the brave
Always stays in his bed
I am so proud of you
My Jacob the Brave
My courageous boy
Who has learned to behave
Love, Mommy xoxo
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