…that scary bedroom, I guess.

L.A. Toddler has been a great through-the-night sleeper since she was a few months old (thank tha lord!) But L.A. Daddy and I have been having a harder and harder time getting her to go to bed at night. At first we thought it was because she really wanted to stay up or watch a cartoon or… something. But we could always tell she was tired. Sometimes really tired (and cranky because of it.)

But we’ve (finally) come to the realization that she’s a bit afraid to go to bed. Or go to sleep. Or to be in the dark. We’re not sure. Normally, once we get her in bed, she’ll cry and beg us to read her another story or get her a glass of water. Anything to stall the process. But, once we soothe her and turn out the lights, she’s pretty good on her own. She’ll doze off and be counting sheep in no time.

Last night, she got up in the middle of the night, twice, and it has us worried. Our biggest problem is… her. You can usually find out what is bothering a child by asking them, or they’ll just flat-out tell you why they’re scared. But not our little L.A. Toddler. She rarely tells you what she’s thinking — she’s tricky that way. She came out last night, popping her head around the corner while we were watching Boston Legal (lovin’ it!), and so I went to her. She whispered:

“Mommy, tell daddy to turn down TV. It too loud…”

I told her that I would tell him to turn it down but she insisted on telling him herself. See? She’s tricky. She’ll make a great politician someday… great delaying tactics. “We’ll find those weapons of mass destruction! It’s just a matter of time!”

It’s really hard for us to tell her she’s scared if she won’t admit it to us, right? So it’s kinda hard to calm those fears if she won’t let on they exist.

What to do?

(UPDATE) Ha! Look what showed up in my inbox today! How ironic. A email message on how to ease your pre-schoolers fears… still doesn’t help when she won’t tell us why she’s scared.