How "Go the F--- to Sleep" makes me feel like a better parent

Disclaimer: If the f-word (among other swear words) offends you, stop reading.   

For Christmas, my aunt gave me a copy of the book Go the F--k to Sleep by Adam Mansbach.  I had heard of the book before, but I had never actually seen it or read it.  I used to cruise the message boards on the bump all the time, and I know that it caused a major ruckus over there about its appropriateness when it first came out.  I'm personally all for it.  It's written like a children's book, but it's obviously not for children.  I'm not the type of person to get all worked up over stuff like that.

Anyway, I've documented a couple of times (here and here) that Evie does not nap for me.  She still doesn't.  I fought with her over my entire Christmas break to take a nap.  One day, she was up from about 5:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. with only a 20 minute nap in the car at 9:00 because she would not go to sleep for me that afternoon.  Of course she naps great at daycare (still 2 naps, each for about an hour and a half). 

I know that I am not alone.  I know that she's manipulating me (she also naps pretty well for M).  I know that every child goes through phases like this.  And so on, and so on until I want to punch the person in the face who continues to tell me all of these things.  I've heard so much advice and tried so many things, but this book makes me feel like a better parent.

When Evie won't nap for me, and I fight with her over it, I get really down on myself.  I just make situation worse, and I beat myself up that it's obviously something I'm doing wrong.  Upon reading these lines, I actually felt less stressed. "The flowers doze low in the meadows/And high on the mountains so steep./My life is a failure, I'm a shitty-ass parent/Stop fucking with me, please, and sleep."  M even told me that he thought of me when he read that page.

I'm trying to loosen up about the whole nap thing.  In reality, the time of Evie's life where she takes a nap is just the blink of an eye.  When I've become frustrated in the past couple of weeks, I've remembered the book, and in the loudest voice my mind can yell, I said "Go the F--k to Sleep."