Bedtime often is a stressful, hectic time, and if you need help managing Junior’s sleep, refer to the section in Chapter 4 entitled “Sleep: Good Night.” Once you get the bedtime routine under control, you are liberated and can use tucking-in as a time to help your child recap the day, feel secure in the moment, and look forward to a wonderful tomorrow. Once Junior is fast asleep, here is a little exercise that you can try, although, be warned, most people never try it and find the whole concept revolting and offensive.
Edgar Allen Poe wrote, “Sleep – those little slices of death, how I loathe them.” But rather than loathe them, we can use Poe’s “little slices of death” idea to build appreciation. If you want to have a really good day with your child tomorrow, go into his room tonight and while you watch him sleep, think of Edgar Allen Poe’s metaphor.
My experience with parents who allow themselves to have that profoundly vile thought is that they go on to have a much greater appreciation and happier time with their children the next day. After this horrid mental exercise, minor misbehavior that may have bothered the parents the first day is inconsequential the next. This gruesome mental exercise is obviously not for most parents, however, if used properly the exercise may have a greatly positive impact on a parent’s ability to appreciate and avoid being bothered by unimportant nonsense.
