Bedtime?? You Wanna Talk About Bedtime.

What happens in your home when that recurring nightmare of a task comes crashing in every night...the kid's BEDTIME?? For dear ole' dad this is an opportunity for us to grab hold of a few moments of solitude and maybe finish up the previous days' procrastinated chores.  Or possibly put half an hour into that project that's been sitting stagnant in the garage for the past two months.  I don't know, maybe we just wanna stare at the wall for a few minutes and go blank.  Either way, there is no bulletproof way to circumvent the impending battle between you and your kids before you get your much needed quiet time.  On one side, the rebellion stands strong as ever and ready to fight to the last breath to keep from having to go "night-night"!  On the other side, a tired old mule and its master giving the "it's your turn" glare.  Now, there are several phases of the battle, and while we're more than used to the same dirty tricks the kids have ready in their arsenal the rush of stress and fatigue remains an ironic shock.  First, a playful game of hide and seek.  We counter with a stern reminder to brush their teeth and put on their PJ's, "and don't forget to go to the bathroom" we add.  They counter with some bold and disrespectful talkback (the content here may vary depending on how clever OR demanding your child is).  After keeping to our word with a strict mannerism they resort to pleading, using every manipulation tactic known to man.  Then, they look at the clock and swear up and down they "forgot" bedtime is 8:30.  We read them stories, tell them all the things we'll do tomorrow, make promises out the wazoo if they'll just close their eyes, threaten consequences, and finally, just as we think we've won..."I need to go to the bathroom again"!  This cycle is vicious, to say the least, but no matter how you handle it night after night one thing is certain...there will be many more nights like this.  Take a deep breath and don't lose your sanity.  Just consider, at least in your time zone, there are millions of dads going through the EXACT same thing at the EXACT same time!