It can be very frustrating for parents when bedtime becomes a battleground. But reading aloud just may pave the way for a truce.
How? By becoming part of a child’s nightly bedtime routine.
Experts say that establishing a bedtime routine is one way to put nighttime skirmishes to rest. The classic Dr. Spock’s Baby and Child Care notes that it’s “very helpful to have a bedtime routine. When things happen in the same way every day, it gives a young child a comforting sense of control.”
Bedtime routines can include quiet play, a bath, brushing teeth, prayers, songs, and perhaps most important, reading aloud with a loved one. Repeating the same actions each night lets the child know what to expect; it calms and soothes them and better prepares them for sleep.
And, in addition to sending Johnny those all-important sleep signals, reading aloud each night at bedtime builds his love for reading and adds to his growing literacy skills. “Just 20 minutes a day,” says the National Children’s Reading Foundation, “promotes family bonding, encourages listening and language skills, and gives children a strong reading foundation.”
Besides, what better time is there to take up a book than right before bed? Snuggling with a warm, just-bathed child as she rests in your arms, rapt with the story and pictures in the book you are reading… it might just be the perfect way to end your day – and hers!
Want a great way to get started? Download ReadAloud.org’s calendar and stickers! You and your child can place a fun “Hilda the Spokesgoat” or Read Aloud sticker on the calendar for each night that you read aloud together.
Jennifer Liu Bryan lives in Alexandria, Va., and is the author of Hilda, A Very Loyal Goat, a picture book for early readers, and co-author of Cole Family Christmas a children's Christmas story about a coal miner, his wife and nine children in the Appalachian Mountains in 1920
Need more encouragement? Here are some testimonials from other parents about bedtime and reading aloud!