One of the things my parents did for me growing up was allow this hazy line to exist at bedtime. One of my parents would say, "Go to bed," and I would do just that -- go to bed. And then I would turn on the bedside lamp and get my book and read for an hour or more. Then one of them would open the door and the following conversation would happen:
Mom (or Dad): What are you doing? Didn't I tell you to go to bed.
Me: Yeah, but see I am in bed.
Mom (or Dad): Fine. Now go to sleep.
Then the light would go off and I would stop reading and go to sleep. After a few months of that, the parent started to say "go to bed" at whatever time was bedtime, and then would come in and say "go to sleep" a few hours later, without bothering to question what I was doing in the meantime. I always felt like I was getting away with something with that hour or more of reading before they said "go to sleep" but I guess that was really their plan all along. For all I know, they may have adjusted my bedtime to accommodate the reading hour. (Mom, if you're reading this, let me know.)
In any case, I plan on continuing the distinction for Sydney between "go to bed" (which means literally get in your bed) and "go to sleep" (lights out, lay still, try to fall asleep) once she starts reading. I can't wait to look at the light under her door and know that she's traveling West with Laura, or gone through the wardrobe, or is suffering horribly under Miss Minchin, or is has found an old abandoned boxcar in the middle of a wood. What fun!
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