Friday, October 14, 2011

Lost in translation with a five year old

KK's having trouble sleeping at night. It's no fun. She's up and down, up and down. We put her to bed in her own bed but she doesn't want to be alone, she wants to be with Hannah. But Hannah needs her own room. Granted, usually Hannah doesn't mind if KK gets up in the middle of the night and climbs into bed with her (she has a queen sized bed, so there is plenty of room), but we still believe that Hannah desperately needs her own space. Plus we don't want KK to keep Hannah up.
The other night I was in the girl's bathroom picking up laundry when KK stumbled in, it was well past her bedtime. The following is the conversation we had:
KK: Hey, momma.
Me: Hey, Ms. Mouse, why aren't you sleeping?
KK: I can't.
Me: Uh oh. You need good sleep, sweetie.
KK: I know, but I just can't do it.
Me: Have you tried counting sheep?
KK: What????
ME: Have you tried counting sheep?
KK: Why would I do that?
Me: It helps you fall asleep.
KK: How do I do it?
Me: Close you eyes, picture a pretty green field with a fence in the middle, and them imagine that sheep are jumping over the fence, count them as they jump over.
KK: Why are they jumping over the fence, momma?
Me: I don't know, they just are.
KK: Is something chasing them?
Me: No.
KK: Are they scared?
Me: No, sweetie.
KK: Is there something bad trying to get them?
(clearly she is getting scared for the sheep, she's starting to panic)
Me: No sweetie they are just jumping over the fence.
KK: But if they jump over the fence then they can get out into the road and get runned over!
Me: There's no road on the other side, just more yummy grass.
KK: But who will take care of them over there?

Clearly, this isn't going to put her to sleep - this is sending her into a panic attack.

Me: Never mind, KK, forget out the sheep.
KK: I CAN'T!!!! (sobbing)

Great! Sheep are overrated!