“Why do we have to go to bed when it’s still light out?” my five-year-old asked.
“Because mommy wants you to be well rested,” I said.
“How come you’re worried about us, but you don’t get enough sleep?”
“You’re right – sometimes I stay up too late because I have a lot of work to do.”
“Tonight you should go to sleep at 7:30, like us,” he suggested.
“Grown-ups don’t need as much sleep as children.”
“Why not?”
“That’s the way we were made. Maybe it was meant to be a gift for the grown-ups.” (Those precious hours between when elementary aged kids go to bed and when you do are a gift, aren’t they?)
“It’s not a gift for me!” he said.
Funny! But true!!
We’re developing those critical thinking skills early on.