Bedtime

WE’RE having plenty of fun putting Harry to bed at the moment.

I’m not really sure why bedtime is proving to be so tricky but, whatever the reason, as soon as Harry sees his bed he seems to find new reserves of energy. On a couple of occasions it has taken more than an hour for him to drop off, which is hardly ideal.

Whenever I put Harry to bed, I always try to make sure he’s a calm as possible, speaking quietly and trying not to get him excited. Most of the time, I fail miserably and within minutes he’s bouncing around the bed while I try to persuade him to lie still.

In response, my tactics start with persuasion, then switch to bribery before ending up – usually – with a stern telling off. Harry’s response, generally, is to laugh leaving me wondering what I’m doing wrong.

Reading a story to him doesn’t seem to have the desired calming effect either. In fact, his favourite book at the moment – the Three Billy Goats Gruff – has precisely the opposite effect and whenever big bad troll is mentioned, Harry joins in with the action, growling and baring his teeth.

Eventually, he does give up, exhausted, leaving a frazzled parent in his wake.

There have been a couple of entertaining moments along the way though. On one occasion, Melissa crept upstairs to do the ironing while I took Harry to bed. Harry then announced he needed the toilet, jumping out of bed and heading for the bathroom in our bedroom, prompting Melissa to hide behind the bedroom door before dashing downstairs, desperately trying to avoid being caught.

And the other night, I popped my head around his door to tuck him in – only to find he had disappeared. After a few seconds of blind panic, I heard snoring and found Harry fast asleep – underneath his bed.