Over the past several months (probably closer to a year now), I have been struggling with my kids at bedtime.  My daughter, who is now three, used to be the perfect sleeper.  When it was bedtime she would gladly go lay in her bed and would not get out until morning.  My son, who is now five, used to be the one who would not stay in his bed, and we would struggle with him each night to try to get him to bed.  He could come up with every excuse in the book to find one more reason to have to come out of his room.  

For a while the roles kind of reversed.  When my daughter was about two she started becoming a little more independent, and she probably noticed her brother wasn’t doing so hot at staying in his bed so why should she?  It was shortly after this time that my son started pre-k, and stopped taking naps.  I think having the longer day helped him be able to go to sleep as soon as he laid his pretty little head down on the pillow.  My daughter was now the excuse maker.  

I say excuse maker because I know my children; the things they say they “need”, or “want”, etc. are  really just reasons for them to not have to go to sleep.  For instance, my daughter will tell me about a billion times each night that she has to tell me something.  Then I will go in the room and ask her what she needs to tell me and she will sit there saying, “umm” for about 10 seconds before she can come up with something.  She does this each time.  She really has nothing to say, she just wants me to come back in the room, and I do…every time.  

The other things that may be requested are: drinks of water (which I always get them), another song, another story, to sleep in my room, to close the curtains, to take things off the wall because they are now scary (a ploy I tell you, a ploy!), to tell me something again (for the hundredth time).  

This routine the kids have set up for themselves really drives me crazy.  For a while I tried sticker charts, and it worked.  My daughter would actually stay in her bed, and no one would ask to sleep in my room.  She would still sometimes say she had something to tell me, but it was less frequently.  After both children earned a reward for going to bed we stopped the sticker charts.  

After stopping the charts over the summer they have now both reverted back to getting out of bed and requesting a bunch of things before actually going to sleep.  This has become such a problem that I stress out over it every night.  I tried going back to the charts, but they seem to be less interested this time around, and don’t seem to care if they get a sticker or not.  

At this point I had a decision to make.  I needed to decide if this was a moment where I needed to be soft with my family, or strong.  I do not like to yell at my kids or punish them unjustly, it just makes me feel horrible and I’m sure makes them feel horrible as well.  I mean, they really aren’t doing anything wrong.  All my kids are probably doing is trying to get the attention from me they are craving.  Since I work out of the home full time, they don’t get to see me all day long.  They probably just want a little more time with me.  I get this.  And even though it drives me crazy to not be able to sit down and relax and get my “me time” all of the time, I feel like this is probably just something I should ride out with them.  They are not going to do it forever.  Plus, I have found if I let them fall asleep in my bed, we can simply carry them to their own beds when we are ready to go to sleep, and then everyone is happy!  The kids usually don’t work so hard to try to stay up if they get to sleep in “mommy’s bed”, so why not just let them?  They get what they want, I get some time to relax, and everyone is happy!

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In addition to my struggle with when to be soft or when to be strong with my family; Charmin is having a debate of their own.  They want to know if you enjoy comfort and softness, or strength and durability; and is asking fans to vote for one or the other. 


The Charmin 2012 Election is underway and every vote counts!  Fans are encouraged to participate in regular debate questions on Facebook, sharing how they “enjoy the go.” As a Facebook fan, you will also have the opportunity to win weekly prizes, including a year’s supply of Charmin. Not sure which side to vote for? Take their online quiz and watch the Charmin debate videos by visiting http://facebook.com/Charmin.

 

About the Charmin 2012 Election:

Charmin launches a campaign of its own this election year by asking fans across the country to vote for their favorite Charmin. In honor of National Toilet Paper Day, the Charmin 2012 Election kicked off in Flushing, Queens and will live on Facebook until October 20th. Every vote counts! Visit facebook.com/Charmin to learn more about the Ultra Soft and Ultra Strong.

About Charmin:

Charmin’s variety of product choices has something for everyone.  Each consumer can find a product that fits his or her specific needs. Charmin® Ultra Soft is designed with absorbent cushions that allow you to use less versus the leading value brand. Charmin® Ultra Strong’s enhanced DiamondWeave™ texture delivers a clean you will notice, with the softness you expect from Charmin.

Eligibility:

No purchase required to participate. You must be a legal resident of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, have a personal blog and be a registered user of the www.socialmoms.com and the My SocialMoms Rewards program as well as the www.twitter.com Web site to participate. Must be at least 18 years of age or older at time of submission. See Terms and Conditions at the terms tab above.

Written by Jesica.

Disclosure:  I was compensated for this blog post as part of the SocialMoms and Charmin blogging program. The opinions and ideas expressed here are my own. For more blog posts on this topic, click here.