At Least She's Consistent

We're going on a few months now where Afton has had the same night-time "routine". Going through the process night after night can start to test a parent's patience. Luckily, two-year olds have an incredible ability to throw in cuteness at just the right moment to return balance to the home. Here is a general summary of how our nights go with Afton when it is time to go to bed, whether she is watching TV, playing the computer, or playing with toys right before.

Mom/Dad: "Afton, when this show is over we're going to go to bed."

Afton: "No, I watching this."

Mom/Dad: "I know, but when it is over, you're going to go to bed."

Afton, "No, I watching this show."

Mom/Dad: "Okay, but we're going to bed when it is over."

[Show ends, and Afton willingly goes into her room. We repeat that exact conversation each night, but she always responds really well when her show or game is over.]

On the way to the bedroom...

Afton: "Aftie tired."

Mom/Dad: "I'm tired too...it's time for bed."

Afton: "Aftie go to bed too."

Afton gets into bed, and some switch is flipped...

Afton: [giggling] "I want Care Bear."

Mom/Dad: [gets Care Bear]

Afton: "I want Cheer Bear."

Mom/Dad: [gets another Care Bear]

Afton: "I want Talk Bear."

Mom/Dad: [gets Afton's talking teddy bear]

Afton: "I want Cranky-Cranky."

Mom/Dad: [gets Afton's stuffed pig that makes pig noises that Afton thinks sounds like "cranky cranky"]..."Afton, this is all for now. It is time to go to sleep. Love you. Good night"...[walks out of bedroom]

Afton: [crying]..."I want a book."

Mom/Dad: [re-enters room, gets a book for Afton]..."Okay, you can read this book but then you need to close your eyes and go to sleep."

Afton: "I want zoo book...I want Cosmo book...I want I Spy book."

Mom/Dad: [puts every book and stuffed animal in Afton's room into her bed, closes the door, and vows to not go through that again the next night]


Last night Afton was especially persistent, going through one of her nights where she sits up in bed, scans the room, and requests to have EVERYTHING in the room put in her bed with her. She woke up crying at 11:30, and when I went in the room she was standing up with her sunglasses falling off her face..."Take sunglasses off!" she was whimpering, half-awake and surely not aware of her crying an hour earlier to have her sunglasses on before she'd go to sleep. Surely this behavior wasn't shaped in any way by Afton's parents being push-overs with their first child and not letting her cry herself into proper sleep patterns when she was younger.