Dr. Robert Needlman
Specialist in pediatric behavior and development.
|
|
 Ask Dr. Needlman
Siblings Keeping Each Other from Going to Bed | | | QUESTION | | | Dear Dr. Needlman,
I am a mom of a three-year-old and a six-year-old. Most of the time they are all-around good kids, but when it comes to bedtime it's "I want some water" to wrestling to giggling, and it goes on and on until I'm ready to pull my hair out and run down the street screaming!! What's a mom to do?— At the End of My Rope!! in Palm Springs,CA | | | ANSWER |
May 10, 2001 | | | Dear At the End of My Rope,
Sometimes children team up in resisting bedtime. When one of them is ready to settle down, the other one tosses a pillow or teases, or starts a really good joke.
Firm limits and a very regular bedtime routine can help: into pajamas, teeth brushed, in bed by a set time, one story, one drink of water, then light's out, and no more talking. The positive consequence for a good night is a sticker on a chart--and two stickers in a row earns a special treat (an extra story before bed perhaps). The negative consequence is separation. This means that you have to set up a bed in a different room for one of the children to go to sleep in (not your bed--that might be a reward!). To avoid having to figure out who started it, just alternate who has to sleep in the extra bed.
This is a situation where firmness on your part can pay off in a big way.— by Robert Needlman, M.D., F.A.A.P. |
|
