[camle]

sounds kinda like a crackpot operation. if you want to spend hours telling stories, etc. to the kid before bedtime, then go right ahead. it took me two days to teach the tyke thet bedtime was bedtime. Her mother's method of pacification sounds a lot like this method. The kid is in control and it doesn't work.

[secret garden]

The key is setting up a routine and keeping it so the kids know what is expected of them. If you'd had a screamer, you'd have tried all kinds of methods. A 10-15 minute story once they're dressed and ready for bed helps calm them down and provide one-on-one attention. Power struggles are not pretty and guess who usually wins them?

[honeygrl]

" it took me two days to teach the tyke thet bedtime was bedtime. "

How old was the tyke though and what did you do to teach him/her?