Bed Book

I just finished writing my first kids' book. I won't be looking for a literary agent, however, because I wrote this book just for Alleke. In fact, she is the main character in the story, and the book is about her new bedtime routine.

Discipline as training (not punishment)
I made a significant breakthrough in my thinking as a parent this summer while reading Ross Cambell's book How to Really Love Your Child (recommended by Lisa). Campbell suggests that discipline and punishment are not the same thing. Punishment is one form of discipline, and one he uses only as a last resort. Instead, Campbell redefines discipline as training (my words).

The big switch for me has been taking a mental eraser and smudging out the word "discipline" and carefully writing in the word "training" and then in parentheses afterwards, as a note to myself, "(NOT punishment)."

What this change in thinking means to me is that disciplining Alleke really refers to my responsibility to train her in all things as she grows up. Discipline is not only punishing Alleke when she does something wrong, it begins much earlier with training her how to behave in the first place.

Moving Alleke to her own bed
Recently, April and I decided it was time for Alleke to sleep in her own bed the whole night, so we began thinking about how to help Alleke make this transition smoothly, to train her to sleep in her own bed in a way that made sense to her and us.

Since Alleke loves books, and I write, April suggested that I write a book for Alleke about moving into her own bed. So, that's what I did, and here's how I did it...

How to write a book for your child:
1. April and I spent some time re-reading the sleep chapters in a few of our favorite parenting books as well as some advice from friends in emails and online forums.

2. After some discussion, we outlined Alleke's new bedtime routine together.

3. Using the outline, I wrote the story for the book and got April's approval.

4. I took digital photos of Alleke acting out each part of her new bedtime routine (which involved a lot of giggling).

5. I created a photo book in iPhoto (I inserted the photos in sequence and added the text), then ordered a copy online. It cost 25€ and took about a week to arrive. If you don't have a Mac, do a Google search for "photo book," and you'll find all kinds of companies that make photo books, like blurb and Shutterfly.

The Bed Book
I have a copy of The Bed Book online here if you would like to take a look at it.

Basically, every day we've been reading the book together, and two nights ago Alleke slept her first night in her "big bed." I was actually surprised at how well the book worked. She anticipated each step of her new bedtime routine, often quoting the book to me—just in case I had forgotten what was supposed to come next.

As a final thought, I'm amazed at how much Alleke is capable of when I take the time to explain to her what's happening.

Posted with permission from Spain Dad