Tuck Them In

My husband shared a quote with me this week that was new to the both of us.  Harold B. Lee said, "Parents, remember that now is your opportunity.  You may feel yourself harassed as you struggle through the days with children, but you are living the happiest and the most golden years of your life.  As you tuck them into their beds at night, please be kind to them.  Let them hear a kind voice amid all the angry, vile voices that they will hear throughout life.  Let there be an anchor to which these little ones can turn when all else fails.  The Lord help you so to do..."

There are two main things I love about this quote.  First of all, the idea that kids are getting enough ugliness in the world around them, so that increases our duty to make our homes a safe haven from such things.  Secondly, this quote really hit home because quite honestly, bedtime in the Bayles household tends to be one of the most stressful times of the day!  Our kids (as is typical) are highly active and have a very hard time settling down at night.  There is often a battle of wills, and we, the parents, make repeated trips up the stairs to reprimand for talking, playing, running around, fighting, and anything but the task they were supposed to complete: falling asleep.  But this quote brought to my attention something we have been leaving out: we haven't been tucking them in.  Perhaps it has been ever since we moved into a house where all the kids' rooms are upstairs, but our usual routine after family prayer and scriptures has been to send them up to bed on their own.  After reading this quote, I suddenly realized that the simple act of going up with them, helping them brush teeth, say their own prayers, settle them down and especially tucking them in would make a world of difference.  Maybe you already do that, but do you realize how significant that is?  How calming and comforting for your children?  I have made a resolution to do that, and in the few days I have done it I have already felt a change.