Why is bedtime often the worst time of the day?

Why is bedtime often the worst time of the day for a toddler?  Yes they’re afraid of missing out, but it is also the one time we leave them alone with their imagination…

My son has an amazing imagination.  As a teenager he can write stories that get his teachers excited about marking homework.  However when he was very little, he found it harder to control and steer his imagination.  So his imagination often ran away with him – especially at bedtime.

He didn’t like going to bed unless bedtime was accompanied by Storytime.  Now Storytime he loved, but we had to pick the stories carefully.  Even then he would often wake up with nightmares and have a tough time going back to sleep.

I spent many nights next to his bed, praying for and with him.  When he was around 4, I found that confessing scripture helped him tremendously.  I came up with a plan to make him something that could help to comfort him at night if he woke up with bad dreams.

I painted a picture on a pillowcase and wrote the words of Psalm 91 on it.  We would read it together every night and soon he had all the words committed to memory.  Faith comes by hearing the Word of God and I made sure that he had ample opportunity to hear the Word.

Confessing Scripture

We started changing some scriptures into confessions.  As he was confessing his own faith in the goodness, love and protection of the Father, his fears were settled and he grew in confidence.  The words of his confessions which were all scriptures became real to him.

I realized that my son was not all that unique in his struggle with bad dreams and a runaway imagination.  I decided to design a range of products that can help to nurture and grow younger kids’ faith.

Becky & Benjamin be Brave

This is how Becky and Benjamin were born.  Kids are so visual that it helps to give them an image or story when you’re trying to teach them something.  The picture on my son’s pillowcase was no different.  It gave him something to make the words of the Psalmist real.

I created the characters of Becky and Benjamin to help teach kids their reason for being brave.  When they know that they are loved and that God as well as Mom and Dad are in control it helps them to develop at a normal pace facing fears as they become aware of them.  In cases where it’s only God and Mom or God and Dad even more so.

I haven’t quoted Scripture directly, but instead reference the Scriptures that the confessions are from.  They’re all written to be true to the meaning of the Word. I’ve also used language that makes sense to young minds.

A lot of prayer, planning and careful consideration has gone into this project that is so close to my heart.  I sincerely hope that many kids and parents will be blessed by it.

Feedback

I would love to hear from you.  Please leave a comment here to tell me what you think of Becky and Benjamin or to share your story or struggle with Toddlers and Bedtime.