Welcome to another Special Edition of Dad on the Rocks, where we drink too much cold coffee, step on too many Legos, and pretend we totally meant to wear this stained hoodie in public.
Haha yes! Once you give in to one bedtime popsicle demand, you’re suddenly in full hostage negotiation mode over juice boxes and screen time. Appreciate you reading!
Haha! I understand, bedtime is always the worst time for the negotiations. They will do anything they can to avoid going to sleep. I told them when they get to be my age they will be ready to sleep and actually do it without any hesitations at all. Lol
Exactly! I keep telling them that sleep is the reward, not the punishment—but they don’t believe me yet. One day they’ll be begging to clock out at 8pm and wondering why they ever fought it.
I had a 4 year old and two twins. 10 minutes naps ..someone was always awake. Moms are schedulers .. dad was popcorn 🍿 and “they didn’t ask for anything to eat” negotiations…go ask your mom…go ask your dad… if all else fails..go ask grandma.
This is the parenting org chart I live by. Mom sets the structure, Dad brings the snacks and questionable logic, and Grandma’s the emergency hotline when morale crumbles. Respect to the 10-minute nap warriors—you earned your stripes and your popcorn.
Right?! I look back at some of those phases like they were boss levels in a video game—sleep-deprived, sticky, and somehow still cleared with sheer grit and half a granola bar. You did it, Anna. You earned legendary mode.
Exactly! Structure is the cheat code nobody talks about—once you crack it, the whole house runs smoother, snacks flow freely, and you might even get to sit down without someone asking for a banana. “Free time” becomes a real thing… until the next growth spurt resets the whole game.
We no longer negotiate with terrorists as well. Date nights are an absolute must. We also take short trips with no kids. We get some time alone and the kids get some extended time with the grandparents. We all win!
100%. Once we stopped negotiating with snack terrorists and scheduled date nights like our sanity depended on it, things actually got better. Time apart, time together, time with grandparents? That's the trifecta of survival.
Ha. I love number 3 don’t negotiate with terrorists. Great Read!! Thanks for sharing this.
Haha yes! Once you give in to one bedtime popsicle demand, you’re suddenly in full hostage negotiation mode over juice boxes and screen time. Appreciate you reading!
Haha! I understand, bedtime is always the worst time for the negotiations. They will do anything they can to avoid going to sleep. I told them when they get to be my age they will be ready to sleep and actually do it without any hesitations at all. Lol
Exactly! I keep telling them that sleep is the reward, not the punishment—but they don’t believe me yet. One day they’ll be begging to clock out at 8pm and wondering why they ever fought it.
I had a 4 year old and two twins. 10 minutes naps ..someone was always awake. Moms are schedulers .. dad was popcorn 🍿 and “they didn’t ask for anything to eat” negotiations…go ask your mom…go ask your dad… if all else fails..go ask grandma.
This is the parenting org chart I live by. Mom sets the structure, Dad brings the snacks and questionable logic, and Grandma’s the emergency hotline when morale crumbles. Respect to the 10-minute nap warriors—you earned your stripes and your popcorn.
Tbh I still wonder how we survived it; but you do. I still smh 🤦🏻♀️ and wonder how the heck did I do that???
Right?! I look back at some of those phases like they were boss levels in a video game—sleep-deprived, sticky, and somehow still cleared with sheer grit and half a granola bar. You did it, Anna. You earned legendary mode.
So true…fast forward to now..structure went down the toilet… they’re adults 🤣🤦🏻♀️
Thank you very much! Eventually it gets more fun. If you get the structure down you’ll get to the “free time”
Exactly! Structure is the cheat code nobody talks about—once you crack it, the whole house runs smoother, snacks flow freely, and you might even get to sit down without someone asking for a banana. “Free time” becomes a real thing… until the next growth spurt resets the whole game.
# 2 is the core upon which the others are built. Only took me 35ish years to learn that truth.
Right? #2 is the foundation, the blueprint, the sacred scroll. Took me 30-something years and a toddler-level hostage negotiation to realize it too.
We no longer negotiate with terrorists as well. Date nights are an absolute must. We also take short trips with no kids. We get some time alone and the kids get some extended time with the grandparents. We all win!
100%. Once we stopped negotiating with snack terrorists and scheduled date nights like our sanity depended on it, things actually got better. Time apart, time together, time with grandparents? That's the trifecta of survival.