to cancel father christmas for my youngest

[loverofwine]

He is still awake. We have tried everything including saying that we'll text FC and tell him to avoid DS4.

Should we?

At wits end

No its not ok. Hopefully you are joking. My 3 year old is still up now, bouncing off the walls upstairs because he's excited. Solution, let him get on with it and hit the wine. Its no big deal, its christmas, time of love, understanding and all that stuff.

At 3.5 he may well think that potatoes are the best present ever, so negating the lesson and making Scrooge DP crosser than ever. So don't risk it?

He's 3 FFS.
Your (D)H sounds like a miserable sod.

3 1/2 ? He won't understand why the potatoes are there. Until he is older at which point he will conclude that either he is a bad person or his parents are cruel. Which would you prefer?

OP, time to get a fucking grip. He's a little excited boy, that's it.

My youngest is still wriggling around in bed, too excited to sleep. Hes tried reading the Beano, been down to watch Outnumbered and is currently listening to lullabies on the iPod but still isn'tt settled yet.

They always drop off before FC arrives - tis a well known fact.

DD2's just turned three and she would understand and be really upset if I told her he wasn't coming because she'd not done as she was told.

Sledgehammer/nut.

He's just 3?!

For fucks sake he is very young. Give the poor child a break, be parents not bastards.

He is THREE.

You, your husband, and your children, not to mention every person you've met in the street recently will have spent weeks winding him up telling him how wonderful tomorrow will be and now you are pissed off that he can't sleep?! I'm amazed any child sleeps on Christmas eve!

FFS OP you and your DH sound like a fucking nasty pair.

Not sleeping before Christmas is what kids do. I don't think I was ever asleep before 12.30 when I understood and believed the whole santa thing. You should be thanking your lucky stars that your other 3 DCs are, not trying to fuck your DC4 up for life. Even at 24 I still take a bit longer to doze off if I'm excited about the next day.

As for not wanting to not follow through, the nasty threat you made to your DC was bad enough, punishing him for YOUR mistake by "following through" would by an incredibly cuntish move. Even considering it is bad enough.

On the other hand, if this is a wind up, well played.

No, leaving potatoes so that Father Christmas gives a three year old a little dig on Christmas morning to tell him that he should have gone to sleep earlier is not ok.

Seriously, what planet is your DH actually on? Does he want his baby to think that FC is cross with him for something he didn't mean, what with being three and all?

I assume your DH responds perfectly and appropriately to absolutely every situation he ever finds himself in and has never been known to over react or get upset about something irrational?

Another no to the potatoes here - pointless anyway - at 3 and half the time lag between being 'naughty' and the punishment is too long - he won't make the connection. and as others have said - he is not being willfully naughty - he is over excited.

I ended up lying down with mine, it worked: they - and I - fell fast asleep. I now have bed-head, am sleepy and disoriented, crinkled face and the bleedin dog ate ALL of santa's goodies while I was up there!! GRRR, and I'll probably still be awake by the time Santa does arrive Is he asleep yet??

Really? Really?
Potatoes?
He's a baby, he's excited, and it's not that late.
Just cuddle him, and let him "wait up" - he'll soon drop off if he's not fighting you.
My daughter is about 6 months older, but she'd find no punishment in potatoes. She'd either think it was a genuine present and roll them around, or giggle and think silly Santa left his own dinner shopping behind.
So it wouldn't work as a punishment, but please - he's an excited 3yo on Xmas Eve... Why would you punish him?!!!
Work out why you're so stressed about this, and deal with your own feelings - don't punish him!

You ARE joking aren't you? Get a bloody grip and stop being so downright cruel.

He's a small excited little boy who usually sleeps as good as gold. So your go-to position is to cancel Christmas?
Jeez, some people just go looking for misery don't they?

God you sound so mean OP. He's three.

I think you should try not to lose sight of the fact that all your working to make a perfect Christmas for them will be negated by giving him potatoes/threatening him with the loss of Christmas/being stressed at him over falling asleep.

He is going to remember the general atmosphere of Christmas above the perfect details.

Working yourselves up and trying to find ways to punish him for not falling asleep are not going to create happy memories for any of you.

Skip the perfect details and try being comforting with your son which will make you both feel better.

you can't punish him for being excited!!

Right I can be a cow when stressed and have been known to shriek like a banshee over something fairly minor that my DS has done but what you're suggesting is properly cruel. He is 3, this must be the first Christmas that he properly "gets" (hence he's beside himself with excitement) and also, probably, the first one he will remember.

Please, just chill.

This thread has (hopefully) got to be a wind-up. What parent would be so cruel and nasty as to cancel Father Christmas for a three year old child who was too excited to go to sleep on Christmas Eve? He is little more than a baby for God's sake!

I cannot believe that anyone would seriously even have to ask if this is unreasonable.

This actually is enough to make you weep.

Poor wee soul.

You are mean to even think about it and ask if it is ok! Strange woman!

And actually I am wondering if this thread is a wind up...

Op I've just posted a similar thread. We've got all of the presents still to wrap. Mine don't sleep EVER. You have my sympathies and I feel like telling Santa not to come too.

Both my kids ( DS 2 & dd 4) have had their moments in the past week. I told them it was "potatoe" behaviour. DS has 9 potatoes in his stocking and DD has 5. They are teany, tiny but I don't like making empty threats. My DD has already said that if she gets any potatoes she would like to eat them with her Christmas dinner. She's decided that oranges are only marginally better than potatoes anyway!