It's the parenting tactic of last resort, when all else has failed, for times of desperation, that we all have to use on occasion...which at times is often...especially when you have a three year old living in you household...bribery! This story begins on Mother's Day when I was served breakfast in bed and Cole was completely intrigued by the idea of eating breakfast in bed. Over the past months, bedtime has gone from a quick simple routine of PJ's on, potty, brushing teeth, reading books, and hugs and kisses, lights out and goodnight to Cole needing someone to "snuggle" with him until he falls asleep and hoping he doesn't catch you sneaking out after he falls asleep. There have been nights that take 15 minutes and many othernights that take one hour and sometimes more. Not only was the bedtime process taking a long time, but there were also night time trips to Mommy and Daddy's bed. Don't get me wrong, both Ken and I enjoy the snuggle time with Cole, but we also depend on the after bedtime hours to get stuff accomplished. That night at bedtime, Cole asked Ken if he could have breakfast in bed in the morning. Ken thought he may have just struck gold. "Cole, you can have breakfast in bed on Saturday if after we read books, you fall asleep by yourself and stay in bed all night." Cole literally kicked Ken out of the room, fell asleep on his own, and stayed in his bed ALL night and has everynight since Mother's Day. Well guess who earned his breakfast in bed? It has been almost a week now and both bedtime and naptime have become much more enjoyable for everyone.
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