Why Bedtime Stories Are Important
After a long day playing, running around and using energy children need to wind down. Putting them to bed and expecting them to fall asleep right away can be quite difficult but having a bedtime routine where you read a story together can help them calm down, relax, and reduce their stress levels which will help them to sleep better.
So why are bedtime stories important
They Help you Bond with your child
Reading out loud to your child at night will create a special bond between you and your little one. Cuddling up together under the sheets and interacting with your child can positively influence your child’s mood before he or she hits the bed.
Creating a Reading Habit
The initial stages of getting a child to read may be difficult. Children love to move around and play and may often be more attracted to a screen than a book. However, by slowly reading out to them at bedtime, they develop emotions around stories and begin wanting to indulge in the habit themselves gradually. You can start with shared reading where the parent and child can take turns to read paragraphs.
Increases a child’s Imagination
Reading stories to your children helps develop their imagination. By listening to the story and looking at the pictures their little brains receive so many ideas, and they are able to predict what is going to happen next or come up with their own endings. Imagination helps to create and to dream.
Source of inspiration
Bedtime stories for kids are carefully curated pieces that have morals of courage, honesty, respect, generosity and so on. When a child hears or reads this, these values automatically get inculcated in them. They take inspiration from these stories and can begin to live by them due to the positive influence of these stories in their lives.
Increases attention span
A child can easily be distracted by a million things. Bedtime stories are a great way for them to stay focused on what is read out to them. If narrated with facial expressions and hand movements they will be even more glued to the story. Once they find the stories interesting they will shift all focus on them thus improving their attention span.
Learning New Words
It is estimated that a child needs to hear a word 12 times before he or she learns it and begins to use it. Storybooks for kids in English with bedtime stories are a great way for children to hear new words and learn them. They begin to use these words that they learn as they get through their everyday life.
A love of reading is one of the best gifts you can give your children. There are so many benefits to reading bedtime stories that can go on for years. I intend to read to my children until they are eventually able to read to themselves and hopefully the love of bedtime stories they have now continues well into their teenage years where they can enjoy reading before bedtime by themselves.