Right now, at 9:09PM I have the last baboosh...in my pocket. Ever since the Mac discussion, Sam has struggled extremely at bedtime. We shall say he was conflicted. He would get into bed, then decide he wanted to leave his baboosh out for the baboosh fairy and say, "I want Mac." Then he would go back to bed, get up and get his baboosh and say, "I don't want Mac." Then back to bed. Then up again and "I do want Mac." This went on and on and on. At least 10 times over and over. It was a huge struggle to get him to settle down and get to bed. I tried to tell him that he could leave his baboosh out another night, just to lower the pressure, but he still struggled. "But I want Mac." I wondered what have we done? Is this too big of a decision to place in the hands of a 2 year old? Should we just take it when the time is right? Oh my oh my oh my.
Tonight it was more of the same. After setting his baboosh out and retrieving it a few times he decided to lay outside his door with the baboosh. What was he thinking? Did he think he could keep the baboosh and get Mac at the same time, since the baboosh was technically outside the door? We went back and forth and back and forth and finally I told him to get into bed for the last time and stay in bed. He could try to get Mac another night. In frustration he yelled, "I want Mac!" and threw his baboosh. The lights were out in his room and the baboosh landed at my feet. I reached down and quickly grabbed it and stuck it in my pocket. Sam started asking where his baboosh was, so I felt around on the floor and said I couldn't find it. We turned on the light and looked for it. "Where is it?" Sam wondered. He was not in a panic, but concerned. I told him that I thought the baboosh fairy came and took it since he threw it away and said he wanted Mac. I told him the baboosh fairy was very fast and we couldn't see him, but he must have been there. We looked some more and it seemed that Sam accepted my explanation. The lies parents tell.
Getting Sam to settle down after the baboosh fairy took the final baboosh is another story as he was so excited to get Mac. But what was interesting was that although it took 45 minutes to get him settled down, he maybe once or twice asked for his baboosh and never cried for it. He repeatedly asked for Mac and got out of bed at least 20 times to check outside his door for Mac. The power of the "outside party." John Rosemond, a parenting expert who I read, recommends invoking an outside authority in certain situations. Apparently getting an outside authority involved is supposed to get a child to comply (sometimes) more easily than another command from their parent. He used examples like "the doctor says you need to wear a coat" or "the dentist said no candy before bedtime", things like that, or more serious things, but our situation reveals that getting the baboosh fairy involved resulted in Sam just accepting the loss of the baboosh and since we didn't take it he couldn't appeal to us. It was gone and done.
He's in bed, sleeping now, and Mac is outside his door.
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