Avoiding Bed Time
I don't know what it is about bed time, but kids will come up with just about any excuse to delay going to sleep. In a perfect world I like to try and tire the kids out to the point they welcome the opportunity to fall asleep, but the reality is, that doesn't always happen. Over the past 5 years I have heard some fairly ridiculous reasons why the kids couldn’t lay down and go to sleep.
Hands down, the two most common reasons have been:
“I’m thirsty” & “I need to go to the bathroom.” Those are actually even legitimate on occasion.
The third excuse is probably “I’m scared of the dark.”
Then after that, there are the reasons that only somehow make sense to a child:
“My toe is freezing cold.”
“I have too many stuffed animals in my bed.”
“I don’t want this blanket in my bed.”
“My leg hurts.”
“I got a boo-boo earlier today and I need a bandage.”
“I left a lego downstairs”
“I had a bad dream.” (When they’ve only been in bed for 12 seconds)
“I need to give you a kiss.”
“Tomorrow, can we have French toast for breakfast?”
“Is *insert sibling’s name here* asleep yet?”
“Can I have more dessert?”
“How does this plan sound for tomorrow? After breakfast I’ll play Mario Cart Wii?”
“I need to go check on my baby doll to make sure she is asleep.”
These are just the ones I can remember right now. Some of these are kind of funny now, but after a long day they are anything but funny. I just want a few moments to relax and take a break before I have to straighten up the house. I am usually not excited to play a game of “20 excuses to call dad into my room.” I would love to know what the thought process was for some of these reasons. I bet they were interesting.
How about you? Do your kids come up with reasons to delay going to bed? Share some of them below.
42 comments
We get a lot of, "There's something really important I needed to tell you ... Uh, I forgot."
Haha, that sounds about right! Have a great weekend.
Don't know if any of your kids have the mythical "dreamcatcher" hanging on there bed but I have to make sure my daughter's is turned in the right direction at least twice a night when she is with me, and of course the classic "Can I tell Hammy good night one more time" which while sweet depending on my mood can get a little frustrating.
Oh yeah! No we don't have a dreamcatcher, and now thanks to your valuable insight we never will. Lol.
Have a great weekend Gary!
"but, it's not dark yet!!"
Ha! Yes, I forgot, this is a time-change favorite!!
Oh yes, our kids are experts at stringing out bedtime. From taking forever with the bathroom routine to taking forever to get dressed to "there's just something I *have* to say" and "just one more story" , the little blighters are world-class!
1. 99% of nights we get from the older boy 'I need some hellllllp!" i go in and say what do you want "i just need some help. " repeatedly.
It's funny how some kids behaviors are so universal. Thanks for stopping by Tim!
This is the soundtrack of my life every night! I think I've heard almost all of these in the past month. So perfect.
Too funny! It's interesting that they still think these will work after years of failed attempts.
For us, it's really a lot of "I forgot to grab something." Or "I thought I heard something in my closet." Every night it seems.
" I'm not tired yet " is a great excuse... I still use it myself at times!
Yeah, that is a pretty good one. I'll admit, it is hard to fall asleep if you aren't tired.
You should put something in their closet and next time they say they hear something in there you go in there and get it and scare them silly with it :) On second thought don't do that, it will only encourage them the next night to do it again.
lol. This is hilarious. You need to just start helping him with stuff: go in with a comb and help him brush his hair, help him put a sock on his hand, help him kiss his stuffed animals, help him itch his arm pits :)
That's absolutely perfect. So cruel yet so hilarious! Pretty sure they would never sleep again though, so it would most definitely backfire on me.
Tehe I've not got to this age yet but these sound funny! Very original. More dessert is a good one!! Lol #bigfatlinky
Haha! I think my brother and I monopolized most of these in our childhood. Not yet there with our tot but I'm definitely not looking forward to it. Mummy needs her alone (ahem-beer-ahem) time, get to bed!
Sometimes I can appreciate their effort. I guess they figure they have nothing to lose.
Seriously! That alone time is my most productive part of the day.
Sometimes I just think mine are afraid to miss something. My son use to get out of bed because he wanted to see what we were doing.
I love that my kids will spend 30 minutes in the tub another 10 "brushing" their teeth and when we finally get them to bed. ... "i gave to pee" (I'm sure they don't since they probably peed in the tub) but anything to stay up!
The best part is looking in 2 minutes later and seeing them fast asleep.
That's true. There are times when I've given in to their request for a sip of water only to return with some water to find them sound asleep.
Yeah, I don't know what they think happens after they fall asleep but I think mine are convinced we have a party every night that they miss out on.
I recently had a bedtime run in. .. http://wp.me/p5T4kE-5w
All three of our kids are masters of procrastination at every step of the bedtime routine. My favourite excuse tro date is definitely "But I'm too tired to go to bed" ...
"Too tired for bed" funny how somehow that makes sense in the mind of a child. I wish my kids were procrastinators at getting up out of bed on the weekend!
Ha! I cannot wait to hear the things ted comes up with! Thanks for sharing this and linking up #bigfatlinky
Ted is sure to come up with some good ones! Thanks for hosting!
I get the usual scared of the dark, I need to get a drink, I need to go pee excuses fairly regularly. Now she tells me her toes are getting fluffy. I have no clue what that even means! #partyunderthebigtop
Be honest! Do you ever roar " GO BACK TO BED"? Cos I sure as hell used to!
#BigTopBlogParty!
All. The. Time. It's hard to maintain my patience after the 5 nonsensical excuse.
Yes!! Fluffy toes! That's so perfect. What is going through their minds when they come up with crazy stuff like that?
Bedtimes are the biggest problem for me. My kids want to go to bed about two hours after I want them to which drives me insane, especially when they struggle to get out of bed on a morning.
Oh my gosh! I laughed as I read your post and laughed even harder reading the comments! My almost sixteen year old STILL uses the same excuse she has used for about 13 years now... Oh, and she YELLS it from her bed, "I need LLLOOOOTTTTIIIOOONNN (lotion)!!!! My feet and hands are DRRRRRYYYYYY(dry)!!!" And yes, before you say it she DOES have several bottles of lotion in her room for her to use but for some reason at bedtime they are not "good enough" for her! It's absolutely ridiculous and drives me up a wall.
Oh, and the famous "Come tuck me in" and they aren't even in bed and continue to fiddle around FOREVER! I finally started saying call me when you are physically in your bed! Hahaha! Great post, as always!
xx
Lysa
#BigTopBlogParty
I hate to tell you, but teens are even worse! Thank you for hosting #bigtopblogparty
Hi Mike our three old twins still accept bedtime but sure it will change thanks for linking up to the # binkylinky
I love some of the excuses they come up with! Our twins aren't at this stage yet, as Nigel says, they do accept when it's bedtime as they're only three, but on occasion they'll mess around a bit before putting their pjs on. Thanks for linking up with the #BinkyLinky
Yeah I'm not sure when they started with the crazy excuses. I want to say it was around 2, so maybe your twins just enjoy sleeping:)
I find there is a direct correlation between how long their nap was and how much they try to get out of bed time. The longer the nap, the crazier and more abundant the excuses.
Ha! Of course Mike! They're strategically maneuvering their way towards their goal - i'm sure you'll find out later in life that some of these excuses were bogus to even them! Gotta give them credit for trying! #resilientkids ! lol nice read Mike, as always..