The kids were having a hard time falling asleep tonight. It's a mix, I think, of four day vacations, Christmas being just around the corner, overworked parents who never leave their computers long enough and the general stress of modern-day life from which we try to protect them while simultaneously over-exposing them (inadvertently-on-purpose, of course).
Whenever one of them has a hard time getting to sleep, if the lullabies aren't enough, we tally up the things that make her happy. Even with some variations to accommodate age and favorites, it tends to be a pretty consistent list:
Green grass
Blue Sky
Sunshine
Wind
Ice cream
Swinging
Going to the park
Best friends
Sleepovers
Gringo
Road trips
Baking cookies
Riding bikes
The secret beach
Singing
Falling stars
Family
I usually start the list and they finish it. By having them finish the list, it accomplishes a couple of things in addition to the obvious: it gets them to focus themselves on the things that matter and that make them happy. It also allows me to gain some precious insight into what they're thinking about at the moment.
Most importantly, after we've checked under the bed for monsters (again), we all feel better about going to sleep.
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