Your own Freaky Friday!

Fun weekend bedtime activity.

ADDED October 10, 2008

Weekend bedtime is a great time to play this fun game. (The weekend part for this suggestion is key, because it might rile your little ones up just a bit.) But the joy on my kids' faces makes any rowdiness well worth it.

This game started one night as my lovely wife and I were putting our kids to sleep. My beautiful spouse said, "Can you put me to sleep instead? Can you two be the Mom and Dad?" Being the opportunists all kids are when it comes to staying up late, both kids in unison said, "OK!" They quickly turned off the lights and closed the door, leaving the room dark.

I could see their shadows under the door wondering what they should do. They were the parents now. What exactly do parents do after the door closes?

I waited a few seconds and started to cry, then asked for water and said I was scared. Each statement caused a flurry of activity: water was poured, questions were asked, hugs were given -- and each time the light went off very quickly and the door was closed.

Then I would get out of bed, and they would gently put me back in. My wife would lose her blanket, and they would find it. I would ask if I could eat a fried egg, and they would tell me it was best to eat eggs in the morning. It was so much fun, we played for about 10 minutes, and then the real parents put the real kids to bed.

My kids had a lot of fun pretending to be the parents, and they ask at least once a week if they can put me to bed. Most of the time I say, "No, Not tonight, its to late." But when I do say yes, they are thrilled.

Try tonight and have your own Freaky Friday style fun. And try to stay in bed, okay?