Several years ago I learned something useful from a pediatrician (columnist in a magazine.) He said that when adults are tired, they get quieter and quieter, but when children get tired, they get wilder and wilder.

Boy, that was an aha! moment. How well I remember family parties where kids were permitted to wrestle and shriek till about ten o'clock, when somebody got hurt or angry and the screaming started.

The prelim to lullabies should be a time of calm, when the adults take control and slow the kids down, turn off exciting TV, and get the kids settled. It's a good time for a cuddle and some conversation, too.