Scary Stories...

The other day, my kids were watching some paranormal, ghost hunting show on TV.  They were really engaged in the story line and were having fun scaring themselves with the idea of ghosts.

I wasn't excited.  In the past couple of months I have had teary kids at bedtime for all manner of things that go bump in the night.  There are some situations in which they clearly know the difference between real and not real, but they are also at an age where sometimes the possibility of something is scary.

When I realized what they were watching, I asked them to turn it off.  Of course, I got the sad puppy-dog eyes. I got the, "Mommy it's not scary!"  "Mommy, we know it's not real!"  I said, "There won't be any sympathy at bedtime for boys who scare themselves on purpose"  "Oh sure Mommy, it's not scary!"

Who is surprised that at bedtime I had tears?  Not me...I knew it was coming.  My oldest admitted he was a little scared but managed to tough it out and fell asleep without any problem.  My youngest came into my room about 2 seconds after he'd been tucked in..."Mommy, are you sure there isn't any sympathy?"

I wanted to be the tough love mom...I wanted to remind him that he'd chosen to watch the show...I wanted to send him back to his room...

"Hey buddy...do you want to fall asleep here?  There's nothing to be afraid of.  I love you!"