When Madilyn was 3 weeks old and I had been able to squeeze in a total of about .8 hours of sleep in those 3 weeks, we invested in an Arm’s Reach Co-Sleeper. Prior to that, the only way that she would sleep was on my chest so we couch-surfed for those first 3 weeks. [...]
Oct 192012
Madilyn has been a really good sleeper since she was little. When she got her own toddler bed the week she turned 2, she stayed in her bed and slept through the night like a champ. She did that every night following, until we moved to Raleigh. The first night that we moved in here, she freaked out and had to sleep with us. She said that she saw scary monsters and didn’t want to be alone. This was coming from a girl who had NO problems sleeping at other peoples’ homes or in hotels. It wasn’t her first time sleeping in a strange place, but it was her first time talking about seeing scary monsters.
A few days ago I asked her to please run upstairs and put a shirt on because she was cold. She huffed up the stairs to get a shirt, and a few minutes later she was screaming bloody murder like someone was trying to take her. I shot up the stairs, (I may have sprouted wings. I’m relatively certain my feet never touched the steps) and found her standing there SCREAMING. I asked her what happened, fearing there was a snake in the house and it had bit her. She told me that it was the scary monster and he was trying to take her. It gave me the chills.
Our bedtime routine now involves putting Grady to bed then laying down with Madilyn in my bed, with the closet light on, then staying there until she is snoring and limp with sleep. Somtimes it takes 8 minutes, others it takes over an hour. This week, while we were driving home from the NC State fair, The Workaholic asked her what the Scary monster looks like. This is what she said:
“He is purple and he has a mustache. He wears clothes. He flies and he makes flying bird noises. His name is Dragon.”
Kyle asked, “So he is a dragon?”
Madilyn replied, “No. He is a penis. His name is Dragon.”
So there you have it, folks. My daughter’s scary monster is a:
large purple penis with a mustache who wears clothes and flies while making flying bird noises.
Related articles
All the perfect parents, raise your hands!
I hope not a single one of you raised so much as a fingernail.
I’m not perfect and I don’t claim to be. I am learning just like the next parent, and one of the biggest lessons that I have taken away from parenthood is that each child is different, which means that I have to parent each child differently.
For me, that means that Styles responds well to praise and negatively to constructive criticism. Madilyn responds well to…nothing. And Grady seems to respond to a slightly raised voice and redirection. Styles was sleeping through the night at 2 months, Madilyn was crying herself to sleep until about 6 months ago, and Grady is still up a few times a night after 2 weeks of sleeping through the night.
Did you hear that?
I heard a loud, resounding gasp for air from all of the NON-Cry-it-Out parents out there. You know the ones! The ones who swear that your child’s brain cells are depleted by the millions with every tear they shed.
I call BS.
There is a difference between a child who is scared for their lives screaming, and a child who is pissed off that she has to be in her bed instead of joining the party in the living room.
There is a difference between letting a newborn cry, and a child who is one or older.
Kids are STUBBORN and guess what? They don’t know what’s best for themselves. Staying up with Mom and Dad until midnight is WAY more fun than going to bed at 8. But as my children’s parent, I know that they need their sleep for positive brain and physical development.
So that brings me to:
”Bad Parenting” Technique #1: Crying it out:
We tried everything with Madilyn including nursing her to sleep then laying her down, rocking her to sleep, letting her stay up, letting her sleep with us, and crying it out (within reason). What worked for her?
Crying.
If you took Madilyn in any of the scenarios that I listed above. she was screaming in anger as soon as you put her in bed. She could wake up from a deep sleep to tell you how pissed off she was that you weren’t going to let her stay up with you. We finally realized that after telling us through her cries (because that’s how babies communicate), that she was mad at us, she would quiet down after about 15 minutes and fall soundly to sleep where she would sleep until 3am for a quick nurse. I know many parents in the Attachment Parenting circles would never admit this in public. I just did so you don’t have to.
That same scenario doesn’t work for Grady. He will cry frantically all night long if you let him so I go in to him when he wakes up and I pat his butt until he falls back to sleep.
Different child. Different parenting. Does that mean that I’m not an Attachment Parent? Nope. It means that I’m an Intuitive Parent and I parent my children according to their own individual needs, not my own ideals.
“Bad Parenting” Technique #2: Not Changing a Dirty Diaper IMMEDIATELY
Grady takes about 30 minutes to empty his bowels. If you change his diaper immediately upon smelling a little turd, that time is extended to about 90 minutes. If you just let the kid poop and hang out in it for about 30 minutes, he will empty his bowels in short spurts over the course of a half an hour. If you change him as soon as you smell a turd, you will change approximately 4 diapers over the course of an hour and a half.
I’d rather let him finish his biznezz than change 4 poopy diapers, what say you?
Change Me?
“Bad Parenting” Technique #3: Body Parts & Their Names
I took a Psychology of Human Sexuality in college and the one thing that REALLY stuck with me was to call your children’s privates by their anatomical names. This removes any confusion and shame associated with private parts. A penis is a penis. A vagina is a vagina. That is what they are and there is nothing dirty about those names. Madilyn knows that she has a vagina and that Daddy, Styles, and Grady have penises. There’s nothing nasty or sexual about her saying those things, she’s just calling a rose a rose, you read?
“Bad Parenting” Technique #4: Independent Play
I let my kids play independently. A lot. I am not up their rear ends all day long, though sometimes they are up mine. I allow them to play in the play room or in Madilyn’s room. I let Styles play in his room and use his imagination without interference. I don’t use flash cards on my 2 year old to teach her the alphabet and I don’t insist that she learn to read or do mathematical equations at this age. At the age of two, anything that they are taught is strictly memorization. Your kid can read? Your 2 year old knows their alphabet by sight? It doesn’t impress me. Let me bust out a book that they’ve NEVER seen with nary a picture and then we’ll talk about toddlers reading.
I know I sound harsh, I’m just being honest.
Playing Independently
There are other parents out there like me who feel inadequate because of all of the kids around them who know their alphabet and small words by sight. Forget them, my friends. Forget them. All of our children will catch up by 1st grade.
I think that at this age, independent play is extremely important. Styles played independently and didn’t know his alphabet by sight until he was in VPK at the age of 4. He also cried it out for a few nights before he could sleep through the night. Guess what? He’s in the gifted program, consistently scores “above average” on state tests, doesn’t have to study one iota to get an “A” in a class, and is a relatively well-rounded kid. So for us? Independent play it is.
“Bad Parenting” Technique #5: Let Them Get Hurt
Yeah, you heard me right. Let them get hurt. How on earth will they ever learn what NOT to do if you don’t let them make mistakes? I mean that in emotional terms and physical terms. When Grady is running down our slanted driveway, on the verge of falling flat on his face, I let him fall. How else will he learn to be more cautious? When Styles would rather play than work on his science fair project, I let him play so that he learns how much it hurts to cram your project into one weekend. How else will he learn to have time management?
And when my kids hurt themselves physically, you can bet I’m in the background clapping my hands and screaming, “YAAAAAAYY!!!!” instead of running to their aid. Teaching them to act dramatically when something bad happens just sets them up for relationship and work failure in the future.
Call me stony. It’s what I do.
I have 5 more “Bad Parenting” Techniques that will be continued tomorrow.
What “Bad Parenting” Techniques do you practice?
Related articles
- Why I Linger in Bed (bananahammocksandtutus.com)
- Migraine Milkshakes (bananahammocksandtutus.com)
- How This is Going to Go Down (bananahammocksandtutus.com)
Jul 072011
Image: Akashic Books and the cover artist, Ricardo Cortés
You might be dead if you haven’t heard of the new bestselling children’s book, “Go the F*ck to Sleep”. I first heard of it a little over a month ago and read an online version immediately upon spying the title. A couple of weeks later, I learned that Samuel L. Jackson had done a recording of himself reading it so I downloaded it on Audible.com. I was absolutely rolling. It was all I could do to keep control over the post-three-children state of my bladder.
Styles at 3 years old
I absolutely can relate. Styles was a pretty good sleeper until I became a single mom. Then he wanted me close by all. the. damn. time. I would have to lie down with him until he fell asleep which usually meant that I fell asleep either before or just after him. I’m pretty sure my thoughts often included the sentence “just go the f*ck to sleep, Styles!” but I honestly cannot remember. The worst was when I wanted to do something. We lived with my mom and she wouldn’t let me leave the house until Styles was asleep so naturally the nights I wanted to go dance my heart out at Cowboys, Styles fought sleep with his entire heart and soul. It’s like he knew. He KNEW that I wanted to go have a good time and by George, he was absolutely not going to let me do it. Not if it meant he had to miss out on the fun!
An actual photo of Madilyn & her bags the morning after our sleepless night and just before our 4 hour drive back to Orlando. Notice there is no photo of mommy. Mommy would have looked very scary.
Madilyn is even worse. She has fought sleep from the very beginning. I remember a trip to Savannah to see Kyle after he moved here and while we were still in Orlando. She would NOT go to sleep. It was about 4am and the child was still awake. I had a long drive back to Orlando looming the next day and I was at my wits’ end. I was (admittedly) about thisclose to shaking her to sleep when I realized that, that really wasn’t the best, safest, or most sane idea. So I woke Kyle and asked him to care for her so that I could nab a couple hours of sleep. As soon as I handed her over to him, she started crying. She KNEW that I wanted some sleep. Apparently she would have rather I fall asleep at the wheel and wind up in a ditch than let me sleep for two stinking hours. I DEFINITELY thought “GO THE F*CK TO SLEEP” on this occasion.
My favorite line from the book (and the one that I most related to) is:
“A hot crimson rage fills my heart, love.
For real, shut the f**k up and sleep.”
Fortunately I haven’t had to deal with it with Grady yet, but as moving Madilyn out of her crib becomes eminent, I am aware that there may be many, many nights in my future where this book becomes my mantra.
I’m glad someone finally had the balls to say what we all have thought from time to time. It makes me want to write a book entitled, “Shut the F*ck Up” in loving memory of my painfully talkative son.
Can you relate to this book? Do you think it’s as funny as I do, or have I just offended you?
Come to Our Nest 
