Why I'm the bad cop of the house

Unfortunately, I’ve become the bad cop as far as Harry is concerned. Why? Well, we’ve been trying to get him into the habit of putting himself to sleep at night which, as you can probably imagine, has caused one or two tantrums.

Unfortunately for me, Melissa finds it hard to listen to Harry crying so the job of putting him down at night has fallen to me. It’s not easy. I put him in his cot, read him a story (we’re currently half way through the original 26-book Thomas the Tank Engine collection), give him his milk, turn off the light and stand outside waiting for the crying to start.

Before I’m accused of being cruel, I don’t let him cry for long. I calm him down and the process begins again; this goes on until Harry drops off. On a good night, it can last for 15 minutes; on a bad night, it can be more than two hours.

To be fair, Melissa has done it a couple of times. The first occasion, I was working late. When I got in – to the sound of Harry screaming – Melissa looked shattered. This was when we decided I should do it on a regular basis.

Anyway, things have improved. Not only is Harry putting himself to sleep now, he’s also sleeping better at night. Of course, Melissa and I are both delighted at this. However, there is a downside.

Harry now regards me with suspicion, particularly when I pick him up and take him to his room at night. Also, when he’s having a tantrum after being put down, he tries to fight me off if I attempt to pick him up – looking at the door and, presumably, hoping Melissa will come and give him a cuddle instead.

The other night, he woke up and was standing at the end of the cot, shouting but not crying. I went through to put him back down and, as soon as he set eyes on me, he started crying.

In contrast when Melissa goes to him, he’s all smiles and holds his arms out waiting to be picked up – knowing full well his mum won’t be able to resist.

So, Melissa is the good cop and I’m the bad one. I just hope Harry doesn’t hold a grudge.