For the Child Who Gets More Wound Up the Later It Gets

Four lines you can say out loud tonight. Word for word. Free to save.

What to say

1. Bedtime is at eight. At seven thirty the running and yelling stop, not at eight.

2. Your body got fast and it does not want to slow down.

3. Ten minutes of jumping on the couch cushions, then upstairs for one book.

4. You pick what we jump on. I say when the ten minutes are over.

When to use it

This is for the moment it actually goes wrong — not the calm version you rehearse in the car. Pick one line. Say it once. Then stop talking and wait three seconds. If they push back, repeat the same line, not a new one. Say the same thing for five nights before you decide it doesn't work.