Stalling at Bedtime

Sleep.

Apparently, my youngest thinks it's overrated, because he puts it off every night.

By that, I mean we tuck in our 4-year-old, and he isn't sawing logs for another 45 minutes. Instead, he spends that time in and out of his bed for various reasons, some of which are rather comical.

He doesn't need a thing, but he is looking for ways to stall his inevitable dozing.

Usually, Hayden's reasons involve the normal kid requests, such as "I need a drink," "I forgot to take my medicine," or "I just wanted to tell you I love you."

Yet, this week the excuses for getting up have been almost entertaining, though we won't tell him that.

Things like, "I needed some cream," when I caught him in the bathroom applying antibiotic ointment on...nothing.

Or, "I'm hot, so I want you to take my covers off me." Yet, he did that himself when he got up.

"Sorry, Mom, but I needed to make sure I flushed the toilet," when I, again, caught him in the bathroom.

Then there was last night. Hayden got up within five minutes of being tucked in and said, "I had a bad dream."

I guess it didn't dawn on him that you have to fall asleep FIRST.