The Boy Who Won't Sleep

Crowbar, my Crowbar. Why won't you sleep?

Crowbar, 6, has never been a great sleeper. He's certainly not the sleep enthusiast Sweet Pea is -- not by a long shot.

He likes the night life. He likes to boogie. And when I put him to bed at a reasonable time, like 8 or half past; he's often still awake two hours later. And since he has to get up at 6:30 a.m. every day, this has become a problem with a capital P.

You can imagine how fun our mornings are.

I thought this sleep problem would work itself out. That he'd end up in such a deficit, that he'd simply collapse into bed and begin snoring before his head hits the pillow. But not so. He simply won't (or can't) fall asleep.

I've tried it all. No TV past 6. Hours of quiet time reading books. Soft music. Baths (they just get him wired). I've even tried wearing him out a few hours before bedtime, but to no avail.

The kid simply ain't tired when he should be.

This lack of sleep is taking its toll. My poor Crowbar looks pale and wiped out. He's short tempered and easily frustrated. His teachers have noticed. His playmates have noticed.

We've all noticed.

And so, against my better judgement, but with no other option, I've begun trying to model good sleep habits. Together, we brush our teeth and crawl into bed (his), say our prayers and go to sleep. When he wants to talk, I shoosh him and gently rub his back.

This limits the amount of work I can do after the kids get to bed, but so far, he's getting more ZZZ's. And once the bags under his beautiful hazel eyes disappear, I'll know it's been worth it.

I don't plan to sleep in a bed with Spider man sheets forever. Once he gets into a normal, well-established sleep pattern, I plan to delicately extract myself from the equation.

But until then, it's beddy-bye for me at 8:30.