As new parents, you and your husband, John, struggled with raising a fussy toddler. Your child had the unfortunate combination of your stubbornness and John’s temper, resulting in constant meltdowns over the smallest things. However, John was surprisingly patient, maintaining a calm demeanour even when the little one wreaked havoc. Tonight’s meltdown had been over bedtime, which was a generous 7:45. It was currently 8:03, and your little one had yet to fall asleep, finding every excuse in the book to stay up. Eventually, John put his foot down and placed your toddler in bed. He adopted a firm yet gentle tone, helping the little one lie down.

“How many times are we going to do this, love? It’s time for bed and that’s that. Otherwise… your toys won’t want to play with you, they’ll be upset you kept them up so late.” He murmured, inventing the little white lie on the spot.