Celebrating New Bed Day

For kids, from what I can tell, the three most exciting events that can happen are Christmas, their birthday, and getting a new bed. All the other many holidays (sorry Halloween) and events are in distant also-ran positions. I don’t fully understand the deep appeal of getting a new bed for a young child, but it must strike at the heart of the very essence of childhood.

We recently got two new bunk beds as we prepared to add a third brother to one of the bedrooms. We ordered them online but one arrived sooner than the other. The 5-year-old must have asked 10 times a day, “Do you think my bed is coming today?” Once the bed did arrive even the large box it arrived in, typically the most entertaining part of any new item, didn’t hold the attention of the boys who were squirming to put it together immediately.

When I said their room would need to be clean in order for the new bed to be set up, even an excited puppy couldn’t have moved as fast as the 5-year-old in his haste to pick up his room. The assembly went surprisingly well but you would have thought I was building a candy making machine for as much attention as the boys gave to the process. I had more offers of assistance and attempts at “helping” than I knew what to do with.

Once the bed was assembled and we slid the mattress on, the 5-year-old got to check out his new bed. You know how in the German language there are words that capture an entire sentiment? Backpfeifengesicht (face in need of a slap) is the only one that comes to mind at the moment, but it seems there ought to be a word for the look in a child’s eye when he checks out his new bed for the first time.

For the next week, every person the 5-year-old saw was immediately informed that he had a new bunk bed and he sleeps on the top bunk. The way he worked this into every interaction was a master class in communication.

The 12-year-old started poking fun at his little brother for being so excited about his new bed. Then I reminded him of how he used to make his uncle “come see my new bed” every time he was at the house for a solid two years when he was three or four. Pretty much all of the boys have gone through that stage and many an aunt, uncle, grandparent, or friend has been taken to, “see my new bed.”

I’m not sure what it is about a new bed that captures a kid’s interest so much, but I’m glad it does. Because, for a while at least, they’ll actually want to go to bed early. And that’s the number one holiday for a parent.