Bed Selection

The last time Lynn Johnston dealt with the issue of having children change beds was back in a week-long sequence starting with this strip. In it, Michael and Deanna buy Meredith a “bump” bed, and then give Meredith’s old bed to Robin, because it has sides on it. One of my favourite bizarre sequences of this was when Robin hugged his baby bed goodbye. I note however, that Deanna does not give Robin any options, even though he makes an option by eventually choosing to sleep with this sister in her new “bump” bed. I give Deanna points for not caving in to Robin, but she loses points for not telling Robin in advance.

Today’s reprint of For Better or For Worse proves that over time, Lynn Johnston developed a better understanding of how to make that transition from crib to toddler bed work. In reprint, Elly Patterson allows little Lizzie or Nizzie (pick your panel) to refuse the new bed she has apparently purchased and go back to the crib. Deanna knows better than to do that. The joke is that L/Nizzie is more comfortable sleeping on all the toys in her crib. The real joke is that Elly Patterson thinks she is a decent mom, even though she so easily caved in to her daughter.

In my life, we experienced a similar situation when we moved my son to a toddler bed as his younger sister came into being and took over the crib. We did not make the mistake of giving my son an option. However, my wife had in her mind the kind of toddler bed she wanted for my son, and she purchased it without consulting him. He refused to sleep in it and instead, chose to sleep on the floor by the door of his room. You wouldn’t think a 2 ½ year-old would be so picky, but there it was. We tried every trick we knew to get him into his bed. We snuck in his room after he was asleep and put him in the bed (which worked until he woke up and moved back to beside the door). We moved the bed next to the door. We put toys all over the floor next to the door (to make it less comfortable). Nothing worked.

Finally the time came for my daughter to move to a toddler bed almost 2 years later, and to pick a grown-up bed for my son. We went to the bed store and let my son pick out his own bed. He has slept on that same bed ever since and never again on the floor. The moral of the story is that if you get your kids involved in choices they can make about these great transitions in their life, the happier and more willing they will be to make that change.