Gearhead Mom

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Parenting by Allegory Part 1:  How Do Dinosaurs Raise Their Children?

Posted by Jenny M. @ 4:30 AM

I recall first complaining to my brother about Bedtime Woes with our first daughter (now almost five years old), oh, probably three years ago. He wasted no time offering their copy of How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? as a part of a many-pronged assault on our toddler’s sleep issues. Three years later, that book has proven useful every couple of months or so, when Bedtime Woes revisit. And anyone who has parented more than, say, three years, knows that when you think you’ve conquered one hurdle, it’s bound to come back in another form. One bedtime problem (child won’t stay in bed) is easily supplanted by another (night terrors). 

After you’ve called various friends for advice on how to win a Bedtime Battle, it’s time to Parent by Proxy. You bought a Potty Book, right? Why not employ a similar strategy for going to bed, eating politely, and cleaning up?  Jane Yolen and Mark Teague use dinosaurs as examples of how to act appropriately (“Does a dinosaur stomp his feet on the floor and shout: ‘I want to hear one book more?’ No, dinosaurs don’t…”) in their growing series of amusing and well-illustrated books (which include interesting dinosaur taxonomy, incidentally. Did you know there was such thing as a Lambeosaurus? Me neither). 
I would recommend these books for the two- to four-year-old set. While my almost-five girl is still distracted by the awesome drawings of dinosaurs and their outrageous behavior, I expect it won’t be long before she points out that she is not, in fact, a dinosaur, so whatever, and anyway, dinosaurs are extinct. 

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