Learning Lessons

Tyler has been haunted by nightmares most of his life. So when Ms. Denise decided to freak his class out last week by telling ghost stories during Kindercare's Summer Exploration camping curriculum, I was so mad. He was scared to look out the window, to look in the closet, and day or night he would not go anywhere in the house without me. He became my shadow, literally followed me everywhere I went. I had to have a discussion about privacy just so I could get some alone time in the bathroom. Along with being scared to death while awake, Tyler suddenly began waking up four times a night, trying to get into my bed. Now that he's so big I'm not up for sharing my bed so I'd walk him back to his bed and he'd whimper. One night Shawn ended up sleeping in Tyler's bed all night. It's been a tough week and oh boy did I ever give Ms. Denise an earful. She's the elementary school kid's teacher so she's used to older kids. Anyway, I finally decided we had to do something drastic about the lack of sleep we were all getting. So I took away Tyler's most prized possession, his Star Wars Legos. I told him he could get them back if he stayed in his bed all night. He did that successfully and asked what he'll get if he stays in bed every night. So we made a deal. If he stays in his bed for 4 nights in a row, I will take him to Target (his idea) so he can buy Moon Sand (he's been wanting this since he saw a commercial for it last Christmas) with some money in his piggy bank (my idea). He's pumped and I think he's actually going to pull this off. The best part is he's not nearly as attached to me this week, AND he got dressed in his own room without me today. Progress! Oh, and no, I don't usually make him spend his own money on toys, but Moon Sand is crap. It's a combination of Play Do and sand, both of which he has plenty of, so I'm not about to spend my own money on it. So my plan with using his money from his piggy bank is to teach him a few lessons about limited money and not falling prey to commercials.