We have a 7-year old girl and a 4-year old boy. Though our daughter has mellowed a bit, it’s still a battle over who reads bedtime stories to whom. (My wife and I switch off every night.)Our little guy is usually pissed if it’s not Mom, and tonight was no exception. Never mind that I’ve been out of commission the past two nights with contagious strep throat. I’m excited to read him stories! Even though he’s tired as hell and needs to get to sleep ASAP.So he pops off with the line in the headline, and I decide with that attitude, there will be no stories tonight. I calmly (more calmness than I thought I had in me) that he really hurt my feelings, and that both Mommy and Big Sis would be really upset if they heard him say that. He started crying and whimpered for a while (“What’s wrong?” “I, sniff, don’t know, sniff.”) He eventually reaches out for me. I lift him out of bed and hold onto him, his head on my shoulder, like I did when he was a baby and didn’t know how to say no...After a while, I tell him he’s got another minute and then we’ll be all done crying. That usually works, and it did so tonight. He soon wants to get back in bed, and he’s asleep less than 10 minutes later.Maybe this is a stage, but it’s gone on for long enough that I just wonder when and if it will end. My wife has always said, don’t worry, it’ll start to swing, but I wonder.I shouldn’t put a lot of stock into what an exhausted 4-year old boy says, but goddammit if it doesn’t hurt like hell.So: Does it really get better? via /r/Parenting http://bit.ly/2QJ8efK
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