Light Night, Night Light

With longer days there is sunny bedtime for the kids. Sleeping has not been going smoothly lately. I am woken up at least twice a night by one of the kids. I’m not sure how my kids are getting away with this cockamamie sleeping pattern since they are 2 and 3 and a half.

The most obvious reason they get away with sleeping like a newborn is that they are spoiled. I feel like the more spoiled they become the less grateful they are for my servitude. They are pushing the boundaries more and more.

For example, my son has developed a terrible habit of saying he hates everything, including me. When I was driving my daughter to school yesterday, George sat in his car seat behind me and repeated, “I hate mommy,” the entire car ride. I react with attachment parenting recommended negative reinforcement, but after weeks of seeing no difference, and the combination of never getting to enjoy deep sleep, I imagined myself turning around and slapping him across the face.

I spoke with my brother this morning. His kids are the same age as mine, and are ruled with an iron fist. My brother and his wife follow a parenting approach called Baby Wise, and when I first heard of it, I thought it sounded cruel, but after seeing the kids' development and discipline, I think it is a highly effective approach.

First of all, my brother and his wife are exceptional parents, mainly because they put so much thought and work into their children’s life. They are strict, and I think people misconstrue that with a desire to attain more personal time, however, it is quite the opposite. My brother diligently does the My Baby Can Read program, and low and behold, my 3 year old niece can freaking read. It is not memorizing either, she can read a book she has never seen before. They have started her on Suzuki piano lessons, and she is on the fast track to learing chopsticks. I will not be surprised to learn that next year she has knit every one in the family monogrammed beer cozies and has started speaking conversational Chinese.

Tonight, after putting the kids to bed at 7, George broke a record by crying for me 30 minutes after he fell asleep. A heat wave started today, and when I went to soothe him he felt sweaty. He curled into me as I cradled him in the glider chair. As I blew cool air on his damp head and rocked the chair back and forth, he looked up at me and said, “I like rocking chair. I like rocking chair.” Tears welled up to finally hear him complimentary.

My daughter yelled for me at 9. She is scared of the dark, so when I sat next to her on the bed she glowed under a pink spotlight that illuminates the room after the sun goes down. She looked at me and said, “Can you snuggle with me?” Then, I realized how easy it is for me to spoil my kids. 

I suppose by indulging in my kids' excessive wants, I am spoiling them, but that will help mold them into adults with high self-esteem and healthy entitlement issues, which seves someone greatly in adult life. If that belief makes me sleep a bit easier, then I will take it. I need all the help I can get these days.