There is nothing nicer than reading to your children at night and watching their face light up at the thought of the Princess finally finding their Prince Charming, and the nasty man completely disappearing from the universe, or if they are like my kids they may prefer rhymes and silly/funny stories which aren’t all that great for reading just before bed as they end up in fits of giggles and I then have to spend ages resettling them again.
However, there are plenty of benefits to bedtime reading other than just enjoyment.
Here are just some of the other reasons as to why we, as parents, should spend a little more time reading to our children at night.
It Increases Vocabulary
The only voices your children normally hear are their parents, teachers and friends. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but by reading books, it gives your children the chance to hear uncommon and a wider variety of words, that perhaps you wouldn’t use yourself during the day.
It Cultivates Imagination
If your child is hearing about princesses, dragons, mythical creatures and a knight in shining armour, then this will definitely improve your child’s imagination.
Reading fictional stories will stimulate their imagination and they will able to imagine these sorts of scenarios in the real world, encouraging great dreams and ambitions too. Plus, it will really help them when they go into big girl/boy school and need to start writing their own short stories.
Non-fictional stories also have the same power, they can teach children about past events in history, famous people who are changing the world and help them to believe they themselves are capable of achieving anything they put their minds to.
Both of these types of books will come in handy during the school primary years, for all those dress up days you will have to endure. There seems to be a dress up day for nearly every occasion in our school:
- World Book Day
- Roald Dahl Day
- Children in Need
- Jubilee/Coronation
- Dress in Red
- Dress in Green/Teal for National Tourettes Day
- Random non uniform days where the school picks a theme
- Crazy Hair Day
- Maths Day
- Christmas Jumper Day
- The list is endless
Health Benefits
Reading books benefits both your physical and mental health, and those benefits can last a lifetime.
Reading involves a complex network of circuits and signals in the brain. As your reading ability matures, those networks also get stronger and more sophisticated. It can also help to reduce stress (so is good for us adults too), A study found that 30 minutes of reading lowered blood pressure, heart rate, and feelings of psychological distress just as effectively as yoga and humor did.
It also means that our children are removed from devices and screen-time which in effect helps their mental health and well-being.
It Encourages Bonding
If you have work commitments and you don’t feel like you’re getting to spend much time with your child, then night time storytelling, when your children are tucked up in their beds feeling relaxed, is a great way to encourage parent-child bonding.
This is a nice way to end the day for both you and your child, and you won’t feel as guilty for not spending enough time with them as you’re getting bonus 1-on-1 time.
It Helps Children Develop Self-Esteem
There are thousands of fictional characters in books, each with different traits that makes them special and individual. It is important to get this message across to children from a young age and help develop their self-esteem.
By identifying with these characters, children may be more comfortable with being a little different and will be able to express themselves from a young age.
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