You know how we’ve been having a bear of a time convincing Nathan to stay in bed at night? Well, you won’t believe this. Finally, after weeks of trying everything we could think of, there has been- gasp!– improvement!
Nathan’s still getting up at night, but only 1-3 times as opposed to multiple times. When I open the door and tell him he’s not supposed to be up, he’ll dive back into bed, cover himself with his blanket, and tell me he’s sorry and that he loves me. (He’s good at pulling my heartstrings, let me tell ya). We let him have a flashlight and a book and sometimes a toy (if he’s been really well-behaved that day) and now when he accidentally drops something off his bed, he will call for us to come help him rather than get out of bed.
I’m very proud of him for minding.
I’m learning that parenting is a work in progress. What works now may not work in a few weeks. In order to parent effectively, I think that parenting should be fluid. You do what works, and when something doesn’t work, you stop and switch to another tactic. Being a parent is no joke- at least not when you’re serious about being the best parent you can be. Children are such sponges; they soak up everything around them. They are molded by their parents. It’s pretty sobering to think about, huh? Who Nathan turns out to be as an adult will be a direct result of how I parented him as a child.
Let’s hope that I’m doing something right…
