Go to bed!

Why do children not value sleep? Why do they not realize that sleep is a gift. It's a positive, an asset, something not to be taken for granted? Seriously, children, go to sleep. You know you're tired. You've got dark circles under your eyes and you can't walk three steps without bumping into something! I just don't get it. Why do kids hate going to sleep so much? Some kids like bedtime. They like that routine of brushing their teeth, using the toilet, washing their hands and face, maybe brushing their hair, reading a few books, hearing a lullaby, saying their prayers. Whatever the routine, some kids really find comfort in it. Not mine, of course. My kids want to stay up indefinitely. They want to stay up until they pass out. My youngest had an entire year where she would be awake for about two hours anytime during 1 and 4 in the morning. Nothing was wrong. She would just wake up and be up. She didn't cry. She didn't need food or drink. She didn't need the bathroom. She just got up and hung out. That was fun (for her, I mean). Now, they push themselves. They don't care that it's a school night. They don't care that it's 9:30 or 10 pm and a lot of kids have been in bed since before 8. They want to stay up. There might be something good on TV. Or, they just want to be with me (yeah, right, sure I believe that one!) They just want to fight sleep. I am not complaining because I know in just a few years, I will be wondering why they sleep all the time. They'll hit their teen years and it will be near impossible to keep them awake! Maybe then I will remind them how hard it was to get them to go to sleep when they were younger. I'm sure they won't believe me or they won't really care and just smile and nod to get me to leave them alone (so they can go back to sleep). I can't fault them. I stay up way too late every night. I don't really know why. I guess it's my only time alone to do things I need to do - and I can only get it at night when they've gone to sleep. So the later they stay up, the longer it takes for me to wind down. Oh forget it, I'm going to take a nap.