The effect of reading stories before bedtime for children

Introduction

    It is, indeed, a time that, for many of us, was and continues to be among our most enjoyable and comforting moments. And while bedtime reading is generally a time of great pleasure and shared quality time for both parent and child, its benefits certainly do not stop there. Reading with kids offers a wide array of valuable experience, including:

  • Literacy Development: Reading also enhances the level of literacy in children, thus building a base for future education.
  • Wholesome Growth: It promotes the overall development of a child, including stimulating intellectual and emotional development.
  •  Encouragement of Lifelong Habits: Regular reading installs in children a love for books that may continue well into their lives.
  • Better Sleep: Bedtime reading can help your kids fall asleep easily and have a sound sleep.

    Confirming these advantages, child development experts give some tips to incorporate reading easily into one's night-time routine. It is in this view that the bedtime-story ritual is gradually turning out to be a favorite practice for spending quality time with your family and assisting in the development of some basic skills among children.

The Very Real Benefits of Reading Bedtime Stories

    It doesn't come as much of a shock to anyone that reading to children greatly benefits them. What might come as a surprise, however, is the fact that whether a child is reading at grade level by third grade is actually one of the biggest predictors of their future academic success. If they are not reading by the appropriate age, chances are their likelihood of graduating drops to four times lower. Thankfully, being a responsible parent, you want to instill a love for reading in your children from a tender age. In that case, by reading this, you are an earnest parent who really wants to understand just how reading to your child will positively influence his or her development in more ways than one. So, let us go ahead and explore the many ways bedtime stories can be of benefit to your little one.

1-It enhances their language development in various ways.

    First and foremost, this activity will help your child improve his or her linguistic skills. Reading together may really powerfully enhance their reading comprehension, listening skills, and overall literacy. And when your child does begin to learn to read, you by no means need to stop reading to them. Continue with it for just as long as this remains an activity both enjoyable and instructive for them.

2-It nurtures their creativity and fosters a love for storytelling.

    This was demonstrated in a study where when preschoolers are read to the areas of the brain associated with mental imagery and narrative understanding light up. Their imaginations are active as they create their own story that is being told. A strong advantage to reading to children over watching television or movies, is the child uses their imagination as they hear the story and develops an appreciation for a welltold story.

3-It gives them an outlet for empathy.

    Sometimes, it is easier to see into our actions better when framed in the context of what happens to fictional characters. If the protagonist struggles, we can take the time and relate the experience to our life and think through how we might better handle any similar issues ourselves. That concept particularly holds true with toddlers, says Dr. Alan Mendelsohn, an associate professor of pediatrics at New York University School of Medicine. "Storytelling appears to be ABOUT.

    give children an opportunity to reflect on characters and their feelings. They understand how to explain the feelings that are difficult to express, and it teaches them how to handle their feelings once they get angry or sad."

4-It builds their vocabulary so they can be well-spoken.

    Who wouldn't want their toddler to utter something akin to "bequeath" nonchalantly in front of shell-shocked relatives? We can't promise that, but research from Rhode Island Hospital suggests that babies who are read to regularly have a greater "receptive" vocabulary-meaning they understand more words-than babies who aren't. Once they understand them, it's not uncommon for children to repeat their new favorite words ad nauseam.

5-It encourages engagement and conversation.

    This might be annoying when your child easily gets distracted and could make irrelevant questions right in the middle of the story. But it can be a very good avenue to connect the story into real-life situations so that they can understand it better. To make them listen, more often relate the story into recent happenings: "Yes, she loves puppies! Remember yesterday when we saw one?

6-It provides an opportunity to be playful with your child.

    As a parent, you aren't always going to be the good guy, but story time is a chance for uninhibited silliness. Practice your voices, and even act out your story. Unleash your inner thespian and enjoy yourself-most children love a little movement and noise with their storytelling, so give it to them!

    Amidst all the hustle and bustle of parenting, it's just delightfully refreshing to take a few moments and just sit back and enjoy the story together. Now that you know all the benefits, you have no more excuse not to read a book and share a few chapters with your little ones. What stories do you like to read to them? And what were your favorite stories as a child? Share with us in the comments!

Benefits of independent bedtime reading

    What happens when children grow older and either can read themselves or would not want their parents to read for them? According to experts, it is considered vital that older kids be encouraged toward independent reading. Just like reading to younger ones, independent reading has a lot of benefits.

    Bedtime reading is as important for older children and teenagers as it is for their younger peers," Alexander says. It allows them to further develop their language and vocabulary and to increase their store of general knowledge. It's also a respite from social media, school-related stresses, complicated scheduling, and other life pressures. Studies have shown that the protective effects of bedtime reading can help prevent mental health disorders, including anxiety.

    Not only does reading independently before bed foster a lifelong love of reading, but it is also said to contribute to healthy sleep hygiene. "Generally speaking, quiet time for independent reading is a great bedtime routine to transition into adolescence and adulthood as it helps signal to the body and brain to wind down from an active day and prepares them for sleep," says Wu.

How to implement a bedtime book routine

    And one of the pieces of advice we've gotten from every expert with whom we consulted on bedtime reading routine is this: Start early!

    "I started reading bedtime stories to my kids from the time they were born, although obviously they didn't understand very much at that age," Wu says. Babies and young children can enjoy reading a lot more than parents might often give credit for, if only it's presented in an attractive enough fashion. Wu recommends taking your toddlers to a library where they can point to books that caught their attention then have them pick which ones they want read to them before bed. Make it interactive with funny voices, and ask them their opinion about the story, she advises.

    As for the transition to independent reading for older children, Mogilner stresses that it depends on each child. A good tactic is usually reading with the parent in order; one can take turns reading pages with a discussion of the story as one proceeds. Mogilner also encourages designating shared reading at a certain time and then sends the child off to read independently after the parent has given goodnight.

    This allows continued bonding over books while encouraging independence and growth in that the child is reading to him or herself," she says.

Conclusion

 Bedtime Stories:

    « The Key to a Better Night’s Sleep for Both Kids and Parents »

    This ritual of the bedtime story was very new to me in graduate school, while in training to become a psychologist—long before I had any professional interest in sleep. I was stressed out, always feeling that I had a bottomless pit of work in front of me, never knowing how to turn off at night, even talking about my work in my sleep.

    Reading before bed didn't appeal initially, as I read enough for school already. But at some point, I started picking up a novel before bedtime. I couldn't quite explain it then, but bedtime reading seemed to do something for me that worked like a sedative-calming my racing spirit, helping me flee the to-do lists, insecurities, and obsessive planning that always clogged my mind when I would lie down. It allowed me to fall asleep with a different mindset from the day's stress, and it really helped.

    It wasn't until later in my career as a sleep researcher that I would realize how strongly I was promoting a deeply ingrained response to bedtime reading. The years my parents read to me, in addition to the years I read to them as I got older, classically conditioned me to connect the activity of reading to bedtime with comfort, calmness, security, and sleepiness-much like Pavlov's dog.

    Bedtime routines teach your children how to self-soothe and fall asleep. New parents often think they must dream up elaborate, multi-step bedtime routines. As I comfort parents in The Good Sleeper, your babies will sleep just fine and grow up to be successful adults who don't need a nightly bath or essential oil massage. The single most essential component of bedtime routine is reading.

    Reading to children at bedtime serves many purposes. In addition to the obvious one of language and literacy development, it includes physical closeness with the parents: emotional security. It provides an opportunity for the defenses of older kids to go down and to talk about any kind of problems they may have. Moreover, reading at bedtime sets a focus that diverts the child from all the daily activities and frustration to let fatigue take the lead role, making the child slide into sleep. Even for very young babies, this focus helps sift out the stimulating environment surrounding them and allows relaxation.

    Because this occurs at a time when children are fatigued and relaxed, over time the activity of bedtime reading becomes associated with tiredness and relaxation. The association triggers and enhances sleepiness and relaxation with repetition, and makes bedtime reading a potent cue to sleep.

    Bedtime reading is helpful for adults, too, I learned in graduate school. Most adults in my practice seem to have abandoned the bedtime rituals of their childhood, mistakenly believing they no longer require them. But then they often ruminate at night, sleep poorly, and end up taking sleep medicines. Such problems indeed call for an individualized treatment plan, but what I often suggest first is reinstating a bedtime reading habit-preferably fiction-to distract the mind from the cares of the day and let tiredness take over.

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