Attempted manipulation?

I'm starting to have some problems with my 5 and 3 year old. They're both extremely well behaved kids,but lately they've been crying more often about things that don't really need to be cried about. They recently (maybe 2 months ago) started trauma therapy twice a week, so I'm thinking this may have something to do with it.They'll start of crying about something completely irrelevant, like bedtime, for example. When I say "it's fine if you aren't tired,but it's still bedtime. You can stay awake but the lights are going off and you have to stay in bed and be quiet until you go to sleep." they just keep crying. We've always had the same schedule and rarely ever deviate. Little one goes down at 7 and they go down at 8,so it's not like bedtime is different every night. Anyways, when they see I'm not budging, they usually just accept it and quit, but now they've started switching to "I just miss Daddy!"This is where I'm having the problem. Their dad is in jail, most likely forever and they,of course, do really really miss him. I never ignore their feelings about this because it's been a very sensitive time for all of us. I'll try to redirect them by saying things like "I know you miss daddy and I know it's very upsetting,but that's not really why you started crying. You were upset because I said it was bedtime and you don't want to go to bed, remember?" But by then it's too late and it turns into a long, drawn out conversation about their dad. I'm pretty sure they've caught on that talking about him if they're upset is something I will never ignore and they're using that to avoid doing whatever it is they're supposed to be doing. I would feel horrible ignoring it, because I have no clue what's going on in their little minds. What if they've been thinking about him a lot that day and just finally are breaking down about it? I'd feel horrible if that were the case and I just brushed it off. On the other hand, I don't want them to continue to use this to stall for time or trying to get out of doing things if they are indeed using it as a manipulation tactic. Any thoughts or ideas? via /r/Parenting http://ift.tt/2FrVgxn