Bigger, Stronger, and Smarter, but not necessarily in that order!

My philosophy of raising children is simple.  You need patience, lots of patience!  And you need to talk to them.

Discipline is okay, but those little people are incredibly smart, and they can reason. They remember everything, and later in life, your actions to and for them will bite you in the ass.

You, right now, are shaping the next generation!

You are not their friend; you are their parents! They will be a carbon copy of you.  Make sure it is an improvement of yourself. 

My husband and I love to play games.  Our favorite is Cribbage.  My co-worker expressed an interest in learning the game, so I invited her and her husband to our apartment to play cards. She seemed a lot of fun at work and was sure we would have a fun night.

The mother said, “We would love to, but our daughter just will not go to bed; we have tried that before, and she would stand right at our shoulder and annoy the hell out of us.”

I told her, “Don’t worry, just have her in her pajamas, and I guarantee that she not only will not fight to go to bed but will also ask me to let her go to bed!”

She said, “Okay, I have to see this!” I cautioned her to go along with anything I said.

The evening arrived!  Before their arrival, I prepared our bedroom.  I turned down the bed and sprinkled my “Magic Powder” on our bed and made it up again.

When the couple arrived, they introduced us to their daughter.  I took her aside and asked her to come with me to see the surprise I prepared just for her.  I led her to our bedroom.  As I turned down the bed a little, I said to her, “I just wanted to show you where you will sleep when you are ready.”

She looked at the bed but said nothing.    

I continued, “but of course not now, as a matter of fact, you should not get too close to the bed, because I put “Magic Powder” in the bed.  This is a powerful Magic Powder,  and if you smell it now,  you will fall instantly asleep!”  

I kept between her and the bed and continued, “When you are ready to go to sleep, just tell me that you want to smell the “Magic Powder,” and we will come in, and you can get into bed. The minute you smell the Magic Powder, you will fall instantly asleep and have wonderful dreams!”

I could tell she really wanted to smell my Magic Powder but was didn’t want to go to sleep, so she allowed me to lead her to the living room. She couldn’t wait to tell her parents, and they played along. 

She was dying of curiosity and wanted to smell the magic powder.  But of course, I cautioned her no go near the bed.  I played it up real big.  I told her to only tell me when she wants to smell the Magic Powder.

She watched us play cards for a while, and finally, her curiosity got the better of her. and she asked me to let her go in the bedroom and smell the Magic Powder.  The look on her parent’s faces was priceless.

I did it up big again, and led her into the bedroom, and asked again if she was sure she was ready to go to sleep because she would fall asleep in just a few minutes.

She got into the bed and smelled the “Magic Powder,” and we talked for a few minutes.  In just a few minutes, her eyes got heavy, and she dropped off.

We had a nice time playing cards and later her parents had to carry her out to their car.

I still can’t believe this, but the next day her mother called me and asked, “Where can I get some of that “Magic Powder?”  I need some; I can’t get her to go to sleep without it!”