The Importance Of A Regular Bedtime

When our son was born 8 years ago, we were younger. Obviously. And being rather self-involved, late to babyhood and having only one child, he was at the mercy of our schedule. Luckily, he is a very easy going kid. He could fall asleep in restaurants, airplanes, just about anywhere we dragged him. Good news is our inexperience doesn't seem to have hurt him. He's turned out great. Well, he hasn't actually "turned out" yet, being only 8 he still has a long way to go, but I'm happy to report we haven't completely f*cked him up. Fast forward to our daughter, born 7 years after our son and from a different gene pool entirely. This little girl has a deep need for a regular schedule. This is not something that comes from either side of our families. I'm convinced it's the sole by-product of her DNA.  Every night like clockwork 6:30 hits and if she's not  been fed dinner, given a bath and then rocked with her bottle to the sounds of ocean waves until she falls fast asleep in your arms with milky, white droplets dripping from the corners of her pacified mouth -- or she is at least droopy tired and ready to be laid in her crib -- she freaks. Not a little. A lot. This child has an innate sense of schedule that has forced us to become the parents we swore we'd never be -- people whose lives revolve around their children's schedules. We used to find it annoying when friends would use their children's schedules as an excuse not to go out to dinner or a movie, but now I understand. I'm not saying there's a right or wrong way to raise kids. Every family does what's right for them. But I'm discovering this scheduling thing is kind of cool. For one thing, it means more time in the evenings to spend with our son. It also means I can get a little more work done before I type up a blog touting the virtues of scheduling your children.