"Hard time sleeping"

Tonight I was sitting in Isaac's room as he was trying to fall asleep. For the most part he was lying peacefully and talking to himself, but after about 15 minutes he grew conscious of the fact that he wasn't yet asleep.

"I'm having a hard time sleeping," he said. "I need help!"

This announcement can signal the beginning of trouble. Often when Isaac has trouble falling asleep he begins to make requests for various items he believes will help him, such as a cup of milk or his father, but all they do is distract him and delay the process of falling asleep.

So instead I decided to provide reassurance. "You're doing a great job," I said. "It just takes time to fall asleep. All you need to do is lie there and wait. You are doing just fine."

Apparently my reassurances worked, because a little while later I heard him say quietly to himself, "I am doing a very, very good job falling asleep."

And he was right!