Camping with the Mediocre Dad

Camping tips, tricks and advice from a fairly average parent and a reformed dad blogger

Menu
  • Home
  • About
  • Camping
  • Family Days Out
  • Sponsorship
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Why celebrate mediocrity?
Menu

Fatherhood: I’m a Midnight special-adviser

Posted on January 9, 2019April 16, 2019 by Henry Elliss

Short read: 300 words

I really should be writing all my blog posts after midnight, as it turns out I give my best advice in the middle of the night…

Like most kids, my children occasionally have nightmares. For the bottom-bunk sleeping youngest, that means trudging down the corridor and flinging open our door, to wake us and get a cuddle. For the top-bunk bound eldest, it used to result in a loud cry or moan, which woke us from our slumber. Cue me walking down the corridor to find out what was up, and offer some bleary-eyed words of wisdom or comfort. 

Both methods are just as jarring, and if I’m honest, one of the few remaining really annoying aspects of being a parent to young children.

If you’re lucky, the soothing words will work and you’re soon back in bed, often forgetting the entire interruption by the next morning.

Doing the bed time routine a week or two ago, my youngest mentioned that something he was reading was giving him nightmares, effectively warning me that a midnight call-our might occur. Before I had a chance to respond, my eldest suggested that I offer up the same words of advice I had offered him – advice which apparently stopped his nightmares and worked ever since.

According to the advice, when you wake up from a nightmare, you should mime the act of writing it all down on a piece of paper, then mime screwing said paper up and throwing it in an imaginary bin. Apparently it works every time.

The only slight downside to this, taking some of the sheen off my parental pride, is that I have absolutely no memory of giving him this advice.

I’m going to take the credit anyway though. It definitely sounds like something I might have said…!

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Reddit
  • Pinterest
  • Email
  • WhatsApp
  • Print
  • Advice
  • nightmares
  • Parenting
  • sleep
  • terrors
  • 1 thought on “Fatherhood: I’m a Midnight special-adviser”

    1. Pingback: FoF: Close Calls It | Dad 2.0 Summit

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    henweb

    henweb

    Pun-loving, 👨‍👦‍👦 dad-blogging, 📷 photo-taking, 🏰 Lego-making, 🎅🏿 beard-wearing, 👶 child-caring dad of 2. 💍 Husband of 1. 💩 Strategist

    View Full Profile →

    Instagram Gallery

    A few photos from my slightly hair-raising morning A few photos from my slightly hair-raising morning walk. Some lovely sunrises, lots of ice on the canal and a couple of rivers and lakes that were quickly merging together, at the expense of the newly-laid track. At least my wellies stayed strong!
    Instagram post 18021846115464989 Instagram post 18021846115464989
    A photo from my Thursday morning walk. One good th A photo from my Thursday morning walk. One good thing to come from this week’s rail strikes (and the subsequent week WFH) was my daily sunrise walks - something I really miss when I have to go into London. Fingers crossed that 2023 allows for a few more of them.
    Merry Christmas, instagram family and friends. Ple Merry Christmas, instagram family and friends. Please enjoy this photo of our beautiful but low-key Christmas decorations, hung in the splendor of our delightful Tudor home.
    Good morning from Somerset #NoFilter Good morning from Somerset #NoFilter
    Lovely moonrise this morning 😍 Lovely moonrise this morning 😍
    Load More… Follow on Instagram

    A little ad for some stuff




    Subscribe by RSS

    RSS Feed RSS – Posts

    Recent posts

    • 5 Tips to Make Family Travel Easier December 2, 2022
    • 5 Great Camping Blogs You Should Follow August 18, 2022
    • Summer Holidays in the Mountains? 4 Reasons Why You Should Go for it! June 7, 2022
    • Family Camping for Beginners – A Guide to Buying a New Tent May 31, 2022
    • The Best New Beauty Treatments to Prepare for Summer May 31, 2022

    A bigger ad for some stuff

    Recent Comments

    • Family Camping for Beginners - The Ultimate Guide for first time campers | Camping with the Mediocre Dad on Family Camping for beginners – Food, glorious food
    • Tiana on Fatherhood²: The Ultimate Octonauts Quiz
    • The best camping gadgets for your next trip with the family | The Mediocre Dad on Family Camping for Beginners – The Ultimate Guide for first time campers
    • Dynamite dad blogs | Samuel Windsor on Family Camping for Beginners – The Ultimate Guide for first time campers
    • Family Camping for Beginners - The Ultimate Guide for first time campers | The Mediocre Dad on Family Camping for beginners – Camping with Babies & Toddlers

    My Brimpton Village history website

    My Mastodon profile

    © 2023 Camping with the Mediocre Dad | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme
    Find me on Mastodon