The Ever Frustrating Task Of Putting Jayden To Bed

I have mentioned earlier that Jayden is getting more and more difficult to put down to sleep. He has been in a big boy bed since January and he has been doing great until recently. This is how last night went.

8 pm - I say prayers with Sadie and Emma and turn out their light.

8:10 - I read Jayden two book while we lay on his bed and then we turn out the light when Alison gets herself in bed. I lay with him for a few minutes and then I say goodnight.

8:30 - I go into the office to check my emails and have some alone time.

8:35 - Jayden is caught trying to climb up onto the bunk bed to be with Sadie, so I put him back to bed.

8:37 - He is found doing the same thing. I put him back in bed without saying a word and I walk out. I decide I should stand outside his door to see if he comes back out. 2 seconds later he is opening his door.

I silently put him back to bed the 4th and then the 5th time.

The 6th time he comes to the door whinning "I'm scared." I put him back in bed.

The 8th time he's whinning "say prayers, say prayers." I realized that even though we said family prayer I forgot to say individual prayers with him. I take him back to bed and break my silence by saying, "Go ahead and say your prayer Jayden." He kicks his feet toward me and yells, "I don't want to say prayers." Ahhhhhhh! I then can't believe that I fell for that trap. I walk out before I loose my patience.

The 10th time I'm getting more frustrated and I put him in his bed with more force. He finally gets the hint that this game isn't very fun and it's never going to change. He lays in his bed crying and saying"Whaaaa, read scriptures, Whaaaaaa, I'm thirsty, Whaaaaaa, I'm scared, Whaaaaa, I'm not tired, Whaaaa... He's trying to get me to fall into his trap. I stay strong and by 9 pm he stays in his room.

Now if I stay consistant it shouldn't be as hard tonight. Hopefully he'll realize how boring that game is by the 5th time he comes out. Then the next night hopefully by the second time and then the next night he will stay in bed. I'll have to see if this works. He's most likely not needing naps anymore, but he always falls asleep when I pick the girls up from school at 3 pm. Then he is a monster. Oh the joy of loosing naps. I'll be happy when we get through this phase.