Reading is a healthy habit. Many of us, especially those who did not get an opportunity to read story books with their parents, do not have this habit. Parents can help in guide their children their bright future by simply reading them bedtime stories.

Our imagination is a whole new universe created from our thoughts.  In this universe anything is possible.  Greater knowledge and experience are what make us more mature, as we grow in ages.  In the same context, children are innocent beings who thirst for greater knowledge from a very tender age. They develop the habit of copying the actions they observe in their elders.  But children nowadays indulge themselves in visual entertainments using iPads, cell phones, and television.  They tend to get so involved in these devices that they rarely care about other things around them.  My own nephew, who frequently uses tablets for his entertainment purpose, has developed the habit of responding to others in one phrase while using his precious tablet.  They rarely get to tap into their imaginations as they are primarily concerned about the actions taking place in front of their screen.  One good way to cultivate their ability to imagine is by reading them bedtime stories.

Here in Nepal, we don't have the habit of reading stories to our children before they go to bed.  There are, however, a number of benefits associated with reading bedtime stories to your children and this article discusses about these benefits. Timing is an important factor you should consider when reading a bedtime story to your child. While children of younger ages (around two years of age) may prefer sitting on your lap during the reading session, the older ones might prefer to be tucked into bed first before you read them stories.  Parents are often looking for ways to inculculate good habits in their children, and listening to bedtime stories can also be considered as a good habit. Although we Nepalese in general don't have this practice of reading, there are now pre-primary schools where children are made to hear bedtime stories before they take a nap.  Here are the brainy benefits of reading bedtime stories to your children.

Reading is considered an important element in terms of children's development.  As discussed above, reading helps them to imagine.  Creativity is an important tool that has helped the human race survive throughout its existence, and reading, in particular, helps children in enhancing their creativity.  When you read stories to your children, they indulge themselves in the story itself and fantasize about a whole new world filled with the characters from the book. There are a number of books that you can read to your children.  The ones we all are familiar with are the tales of Cinderella, Snow White, Gulliver's Travel, etc. These stories are shorter and easier to understand unlike the thick novels, of varying in genres, that adults prefer to read.  Parents get to spend less time with their children, once their offspring starts growing up.  In between the hectic schedules of work and school, it's quite difficult for parents to spend quality time with their children like they used to when they were toddlers. So, one additional benefit of reading bedtime stories to your child is the comfort of spending time with your kid after a busy day.  Being there for your child, when you end the day is a great way to build a closer bond with your kid.  During this quality time, parents can converse with their children about various topics such as: discussing the events of the day; the lessons learnt from the story itself; and their comprehension of the story, and so on.  Apart from all, it's always good to let your children know how much you love them before they call it a night.  Tell them things that you adore about them, enlighten them with lovely thoughts, and excite them with the prospect of how life will be in the future. Guide them day by day towards becoming a better human being.

It is said that if you routinely continue doing the same activity for more than twenty days, you somehow become habituated to it. Hence narrating fairy tales to your kid on a routine basis, before bed, will make it a healthy habit.  Making this a part of your routine activity can be beneficial for your child in many ways.  First your children will later make a habit of reading the books by themselves.  Second the lessons or the moral of the story helps in shaping up the values of your children. With the help of these stories, they will be able to distinguish what is good and what is bad.  Third not only will it help them build up their moral values, it will also assist them in terms of reading preparedness. The brain develops and grows at a fast pace during the toddler years of your children. Hence, with the help of such reading activities, children can learn a lot of things (many of which have already been discussed above).  The reading habit also helps improve of their vocabulary and their use of descriptive phrases while conversing with other people.  Reading can also be beneficial in terms of extending their attention span.

However, one should keep in mind that reading bedtime stories to your children is not just about reciting the lines monotonously from the same book over and over again. There might be some instances, where a child gets so attached to one particular story that she demands it to be read night after night.  But bedtime stories are more than just moments of sharing cute stories.  It's a moment where you connect with your children.  Of course, on some days you may not be able to follow this ritual.  Nevertheless your children will eventually grow up considering bedtime stories as an essential part of their everyday life, and you wouldn't want to dismay them, would you?

  

  1. Doing the same thing over and over again can make you weary at times, hence here are a few tips that can make your bedtime story session a bit more interesting than usual.
  2. Try to bring in your own imagination into the story when reading to your child.
  3. Act out the situation, and narrate the dialogues with an exaggerated expression.  Your kid will be the only audience, so you don't have to be shy to let your inner trouper out.
  4. If your child is old enough to have a good attention span, try reading about two pictorial short books to them every night.
  5. Let your child choose one book, while you choose the other one.
  6. Try taking turns while reading alternate chapters with your kid.  It builds up the excitement of the whole story and you can have fun as well as an interactive reading session with your child.