For the Child Who Is Starving at Bedtime

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

What to say

1. The kitchen closes at seven thirty. After that there is one thing you can still have.

2. A hungry stomach at bedtime is hard to argue with, and it is also sometimes a stall.

3. Banana or bread, at the table, light on, before eight.

4. You pick which one now, and tomorrow we eat dinner at six instead of seven.

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.