Bedtime woes

I still have not found the trick to get my children to go to sleep when it is time. I have tried so-called "routines", coaxing, yelling, bribing, and anything else imaginable. Before I had Katelyn we had a pretty good routine going where they would clean up their toys, pick out their pajamas, take a bath, brush their teeth and hair, put on their pajamas, pick out books, read books, turn on their nightlight, say prayers, then go to bed. About 50% of the time they would actually fall asleep. The other 50% they would talk, run around, play and do anything besides sleep. Usually they would claim such things as, "I'm so thirsty I'm going to die." Or, "I have to go to the bathroom right now or I will wet the bed." Usually after about the 10th time out of bed I would start yelling at them to go to bed or else. So what started as a positive bedtime experience ended up negative and then I would feel guilty. I told them that I was going to stop being nice and letting them read books and whatnot because they didn't actually go to bed afterwards.

Benjamin has started something new that is kind of funny. When I tell him it is time for bed he starts saying, "but I'm itchy!" He will pretend to scratch himself. He thinks that being itchy excuses him from having to go to bed. I'm not sure how it all started, but now every night he tells me how itchy he is.

Joseph will always decide that bedtime is suddenly the time to learn something new. He will say he wants to read a book (which he will refuse to read during the day) or he will ask me how to divide 10 into 100. Something, anything, that will delay the inevitable.