Saturday, April 30, 2011

When a child opens a door, her parents want to jump out a window

Am I really about to tell a story about door handles? Yes, yes I am.

A few weeks ago, we had our "looked cool in the 90's" round shiny brass doorknobs replaced with the oiled-bronze beauties pictured below (what does it say about my life that I am so excited about new doorknobs?).  

Since then, we haven't gotten a full night's sleep.  Pink, who was formerly being kept in her room by one of those toddler-proof door locks, can escape from her room at 2am now, and does every single night.

 In my last attempt to save my sanity before I go buy another round doorknob and re-attach it to her door, we are starting a sticker chart today.  See those cute beds?  Every night she stays in bed all night, she gets to put a sticker on one.  Six nights in a row, she earns a lollipop; twelve nights, she gets lunch at chick-fil-a; after a full 30 nights, she gets to go to a hotel.  

The first two of these incentives I understand - she loves candy and those weird nuggets and fries, but that last one I was surprised about.  After some intensive questioning (which is hilarious, since this 3-year-old doesn't really reason yet), it turns out that hotels are fun because:
* you get to watch tv in bed
* they have a pool
* everyone sleeps in the same room
So does this mean that if we work and try and finally get Pink to sleep through the night in her own room for 30 nights in a row, we will completely undo all that effort in the reward? 
Never a dull moment in this parenting game....

4 comments:

  1. I love contradictions that abound in parenting. I am pretty sure those door knobs are way worth the reward chart. We have the former 90's brass wonders and secretly dream of beautiful door handles.

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  2. Love the pretty door knobs. Definitely worth spending a night in a hotel to keep them : ) And as one who used to be queen of incentive charts, yours is top notch.

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  3. I love the door knobs. They are way cool...we still have the "lost in the 90s" ones. Tell Pink that we can't wait to hear about her progress!

    Just wanted you to know that you should not blame any of this on the doorknob. Will - and you know how moblie he was - learned to hit the childproof lock cover 'just so' and it would pop apart to facilitate his escape. Parenting, it's a no win deal!

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  4. They are tricky little things those toddlers. I love the handles!! And I love your chart!! I may have to steal it if our soon to be 4 year old doesn't soon realize that staying in bed makes mommy happy and when mommy gets a good uninterrupted nights sleep - well, you know.

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