If you have kids, you’re likely familiar with the up-and-down bedtime tuck in.
This phenomenon occurs when you FINALLY tuck your kids into bed for the night. You’re tired. It’s late. You’ve worked all day, driven home in the traffic, got dinner on the table, cleaned up the kitchen, gone through the backpacks, made the snacks/lunches and tidied up the house.
Once they’re in bed you know that the couch, your favourite TV show and some relaxing is finally going to take place. You can taste it.
And then it starts . . .
First it’s the sound of little footsteps that lead from their upstairs bedroom to the staircase banister. You try to ignore it, but they persist.
Next it’s the sound of a little voice. Which comes up with new and inventive excuses all the time to explain why they’re out of bed. After they’ve already been tucked in. And it’s your time to be relaxing! The excuses might included, but are not limited to;
- I can’t sleep
- I’m thirsty
- when are you coming to bed?
- I’m scared
- my brother won’t stop singing in bed and he’s keeping me awake
- my throat / belly / ankle / whatever hurts
- I need a band-aid
- I’m hot / I’m cold
Such excuses are used to lure a parent back upstairs to re-tuck. But this is highly annoying to a parent that’s VERY intent on getting her relax on. So I have grown immune to such excuses.
Till The Youngest came up with a new one last night. I will relay the conversation exactly how it happened and then you will write the ending. Because I had no idea how to respond.
The Youngest: Mommy – I can’t sleep
Me: Why not
The Youngest: A booger fell in my eye and it really really hurts
Me: What? How did a booger get in your eye?
The Youngest: I was pickin’ my nose while I was laying down and it fell off my finger and landed in my eye.
Me: You have GOT to be kidding me with this!
The Youngest: Can you come check my eye?
Me: Sigh
Okay folks . . . what should I have done next? Leave me what ya got in the comments.
13 Responses to “What Should I Have Done?”
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April 9th, 2010 at 5:34 am
Laughed? Then sent him back to bed. Hopefully that’ll teach him not to pick his nose
maybe I’m just too harsh though, I don’t have kids yet but I’m sure I’ll turn out to be a big softie after all!
April 9th, 2010 at 7:10 am
I’d probably have to get up and look for the booger.
Having said that, my kids never did the up and down thing. I was blessed with sleepers. I know you hate me.
April 9th, 2010 at 12:16 pm
“Well good thing you’re going to sleep because closing your eyes will make it feel better!”
April 9th, 2010 at 12:25 pm
Girl, I don’t have kids yet so this is probably the wrong thing to do, but I would’ve made up some BS about how eyeballs naturally repel boogers and it would be physically impossible to have a booger in your eyeball. So, nice try, but go to bed.
Maybe I shouldn’t have kids.
ps – guess what i did? a tour of my workspace… come check it out.
April 9th, 2010 at 3:25 pm
i don’t have kiddos- so i can’t speak professionally. but, i can only imagine i would do something mean, like tell them boogers rot eyeballs, and now that eyeball will most likely fall out over night. way to go.
i may be getting sucked into the office picture thing. everyone is making me want to do it. yes if everyone jumped off a bridge,i would too.
April 9th, 2010 at 4:15 pm
BWAHAHHAHAHA! I am dying over here!! A BOOGER in the eye! AMAZING!
I would have said, “Well, since you’re so good at picking boogers, why don’t you just pick it out of your eye?! Goodnight.”
April 9th, 2010 at 7:16 pm
Sorry, can’t respond….laughing too hard!!! Booger in the eye??? It’s times like this when I remember why it’s a good thing that I don’t have kids! Really, really don’t know how I would have responded other than peeing my pants from laughing so hard….although I could have sent Pete to sort it out..he’s still a kid and might be able to relate!!
April 9th, 2010 at 8:03 pm
I can’t think of what you should have done next but you should have tied him down when you put him to bed. You should do that every night. Then they won’t be up until an acceptable hour when you release them the next morning.
I remember not long after my grandfather died.. maybe a week later.. I was.. about 10? Anyway, I hadn’t really shed a tear over his passing, I just kept on with my routine, and then one night I woke up crying and after crying for about 5 minutes just kept watching Murphy Brown with my parents.
Mum accused me of faking the tears to watch Murphy Brown.. but I’m pretty sure I was sad when I got out of bed. Murphy Brown just made me happy again.
Does any of this make me sound like a horrible person? Especially the part about my mum thinking I had it in me to fake sadness over my grandfathers death just to watch Murphy Brown?
April 9th, 2010 at 9:55 pm
You should have told him, since he picked it out of his nose, he should just pick it out of his eye…..and eat it! Come on – ALL kids do that! Gross, but true!
April 10th, 2010 at 6:45 pm
I would have just told him it would come out on its own as long as he went right to sleep and kept his eyes shut tight so no more boogers fell in. Mine have figured out that most of their requests get no response, but if they ask for another hug, I might make the trek up there.
April 11th, 2010 at 12:49 am
You should have picked it out and made em eat it.
Okay, that’s gross. I don’t know. Most nights I throw my hands up in defeat.
April 11th, 2010 at 10:38 pm
Told him to blink really, REALLY hard.
April 12th, 2010 at 12:40 am
That one’s funny enough I would have to go to him. No way I could let that one slide without a laugh and a hug!