Parenting Advice From Joy Berry: A Parent’s Bedtime Story

Do you want to hear a bedtime story that would test any young parent’s metal? If you do, try this one on for size.

When my hyperactive daughter was barely three years old, she taught herself how to disengage all of the locks on our front door. Her favorite time to use her Houdini-like skill was in the middle of the night when everyone in the family was asleep. She loved escaping into the night and riding her tricycle all over the neighborhood.

We did not realize what was happening until a policeman showed up at our front door at 2:00 a.m. He was holding on to my daughter with one hand and the tricycle with the other. My husband and I were absolutely horrified.

The next day, I made an emergency appointment with the pediatrician. He was a wise, sympathetic man and had what I felt was a good solution to the problem.

Immediately, I went to the medical supply store and purchased the pediatric bed-harness that the doctor recommended. The harness was designed to keep a toddler in bed without restricting their movements or harming them in any way.

That night, as per the pediatrician’s advice, we, as lovingly as possible, “harnessed” our daughter to the guardrails of her bed. Of course, my daughter was having none of it, and she responded with a full-blown tantrum—the worst she had ever thrown.

Having been forewarned by the doctor, my husband and I took our places on the couch in the living room and waited for the tantrum to subside. To our complete chagrin, Lisa was still going strong after 30 minutes. But then, after 45 minutes had passed, our hanging tough seemed to pay off, and the house finally fell into a welcome silence.

My husband and I tiptoed down the hall and, as quietly as possible, attempted to push open Lisa’s bedroom door. However, something was blocking it, so we had to push a little harder. When we finally got the door open, we saw that our tiny three-year-old daughter, while still wearing the harness, had managed to get out of the bed and pull it across the entire room. Even more unbelievable was the fact that she was standing up, clutching onto the guardrail, and was fast asleep.

Obviously, we needed a Plan B.

During the ensuing weeks, we learned all kinds of bedtime tricks. For starters, we eliminated Lisa’s daytime naps and set up a bedtime routine. But more important, we helped Lisa “make friends” with her bed and bedtime.

Later, I put everything I learned into a book for toddlers called Teach Me About Bedtime, and although it is pretty comprehensive as children’s books go, I can assure you that there is not a single mention of bed harnesses.