Raise your hand if you have a kid who sleeps in bed with you, even for part of the night.
:::RAISES HAND:::
yawn
OK, to be totally honest, I don’t really mind Claire crawling into bed next to me in the middle of the night. Most of my attempts to get her to sleep in her own bed all night have been inconsistent and half-hearted at best (although I was serious when it came time to teaching her to fall asleep on her own, and that was a real sanity-saver).
But what if you DO want or need your kiddo to sleep in their own bed all night long?
I mean, there will definitely be a time when you know that it’s TIME, you know?
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Marcia G. Riley sent me a copy of her book, The Pillow Fairy, to read to my youngest about sleeping in her own bed.
The Pillow Fairy shares the story of three-year-old Matt, who, like certain kids I know, would prefer the warm comfort of his parents’ bed to his own! To encourage him to sleep in his own bed all night long, Matt’s mom shares the story of The Pillow Fairy, a magical fairy who rewards kids for sleeping in their beds all night.
Full of adorable illustrations (seriously, they’re great – Claire loved them!) and a sweet, easy-to-follow story (perfect for little kids), both of my kids were engaged and interested in this book. The author has done a great job of creating a fun story that kids and adults will love.
I haven’t had a chance to try it out yet. We’ve had a bunch of unexpected events happen this month (and it’s only the first week of the month), and honestly? Sleeping in our own beds has been the last thing on my mind. All I care about right now is sleep, and I don’t care where she is when she’s getting it! But when things settle down, we’re going to try this.
As long as my oldest, Jack, doesn’t ruin it. He sat quietly behind me when I read this story and then said,”Claire. There is NO pillow fairy. If there was, she would have come when I was learning to fall asleep! The only real fairy is the TOOTH FAIRY.”
SIGH. Leave it a seven-year-old to dash my dreams!
So, we’ll see. If I can’t get her on board with the Pillow Fairy (thanks, big brother…), I’ll take the concept of this story and work it a little differently but keep the same angle. I’ll definitely be reading this to her again when it comes time to sleep in her own bed (January, most likely).
If you have a kid who won’t sleep in their own bed, I think this is a good place to start. I love the conversation it started (we ended up talking about sleeping in our own beds for a long time, actually), and I think the concept is great.
This would make a fantastic read for your own little non-sleeper.
You can buy The Pillow Fairy here. You can find hard cover, soft cover and fairy dust at the author’s website here.