One of my six year-old sons woke up on the wrong side of the sleeping bag today.
The reason why he slept in a sleeping bag in the hallway instead of in his bed last night has less to do with fondness for camping and more to do with an attitude problem that resulted in the loss of the privilege of having one's own bedroom.
There are a lot of things that my son didn't like about sleeping on the floor: the carpet smelled funny, the cat sniffed his head all night, the monster who lives in the hall closet came back from vacation. By far the biggest gripe, however, was the unfortunate fact that every time his brother or sister had to get up to use the bathroom, they had to step over him.
This proved to be a task that neither of my son's siblings seemed to be able to do without accidentally tripping over and/or bumping into him.
"KNOCK IT OFF!"
This is the sound of the unfairly persecuted.
For reasons no one can explain, last night the two children not sleeping in the hallway were plagued with overactive bladders. One got up three times before I gave him permission to urinate in his pants if need be. I had to ask the other one if she needed me to put her in a diaper.
"No one is getting out of their beds again," I said more hopefully than forcefully.
Just as I was drifting off to sleep, I heard a loud scream.
It didn't come from the sleeping bag, but from the person who tempted fate...and teased the person inside the sleeping bag.
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14 comments
Love it!
I work with teenagers in a treatment center and they seem to have that same problem with having to use the restroom every five minutes during school and at assemblies and events. I like your diaper threat!
LOL!!! i'll have to remember this one for when my kids get bigger!
So, I am not a parent at all, but love reading this blog because it genuinely makes me smile or laugh each time. I hope your hallway sleeper slumber much better this evening.
I love this -
"...and more to do with an attitude problem that resulted in the loss of the privilege of having one's own bedroom."
I like the way you think.
That's funny! What on earth did he do to lose his bedroom priviledge?!
His OWN bedroom? At 6 years old? Sharing a room could also be considered a punishment....
I'll be buying sleeping bags today so that I can tell the cretins (the darlings, I mean, of course) that they can sleep on the screened deck with the monster moths if they don't step in line. Fantastic mothering! As always. You go get 'em, Meanest Mom.
From our den of 4 miscreants to yours (we have twins in the mix, too).
Nicole (Ninja Mom)
My 4 year old loves sleeping in his sleeping bag on the floor. Too bad, because I love your idea of punishment.
Your sleeping bag in the hallway punishment is like my "privacy is a privilege, not a right" punishment. I can get that door off it's hinges and in the garage in T minus 30 seconds!
My girls have been taking turns each night with the hall sleeping because of their excessive talking. But because of the same excessive peeing of the other bed sleeping sibling we have moved from hall sleeping to closet sleeping. I don't think they enjoy mom and dad's closet floor much better.
Too funny! I just found this blog and your stories of motherhood are hilarious (and oh so comforting to know I'm not alone)! I love it!
Wow - what do you have to do to lose your own bedroom? YIkes!
Love this!! I will have to remember the loss of bedroom privileges for future reference in my home. I think that may work better than current punishments!
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