Bedtime Woes

As Jack would tell you, "Jack's been having a little trouble staying in his room at bedtime lately." We've been through a variety of consequences and incentives over the past few weeks, and he finally seems to be settling down a bit. One night last week, Jack came out of his room several times for emergencies including wanting to pray because he was afraid of airplane noises, needing to go potty for the 15th time, and wondering why the "smoke protector" light was flashing outside his room. I was getting ready to staple his jammies to his bed... Finally, we discussed the problem while he was sitting on the potty. We listed the reasons he needed to stay in bed, and reviewed the consequences of coming out of his room again. My wise little two-year-old thought for a moment, then raised up his little hands and said resignedly, "Well, Momma, there's just no way around it. Jack's still having a little trouble." He looked at me very seriously, and then burst into giggles. He finally stayed in his bed after that!