The Benefits Of Bedtime Stories For Children

Do you want an easy way to bond and connect with your children? All it takes is a book and a little time. One of the favorite activities for many families is reading stories to the younger ones just before they go to sleep.

You only have to think back to some of your own childhood to remember how much you looked forward to hearing a story. Children have very vivid imaginations that take flight when they hear a book being read aloud. To them this story becomes so real that it seems to be taking place in front of their eyes. Parents will often be faced with the plea for “Just one more page, please.” It can be difficult to say “No” to a child’s eager request and it is very satisfying to a parent to realize how much happiness they are creating for their little ones with a simple story.

While you don’t have to wait until the evening hours to read to your child, there are many benefits that accompany the beloved childhood ritual of bedtime stories.

1. Children enjoy listening to stories as they prepare for sleep. This helps them settle down quietly for the night. Listening to the familiar and much loved tones of their parent’s voice is very soothing and comforting.

2. Bedtime stories stimulate the imaginations of children and may even help them become more creative. Children whose parents read to them on a regular basis score higher on most standardized tests at school.

3. When parents or older siblings read to younger children it fosters a love of books and will make kids want to learn how to read.

4. Reading bedtime stories helps young ones develop a large vocabulary.

5. Parents that spend time reading to their children are creating warm memories that will last a lifetime. You can be as campy or as “over the top” as you like when pretending to be different characters in the story. Use funny voices or different facial expressions and really put some emotion into the words and your child will believe you to be the most brilliant actor in the world.

6. One of the most rewarding experiences for a parent is when they can share their own favorite bedtime stories with their own children. Many of the stories your parents read to you were some that your grandparents, or great-grandparents, read to them. You might even consider bedtime storytelling to be a way of continuing a family tradition.

7. Reading and listening to stories engage more areas of the brain than video games or television. If you want to initiate curiosity and thinking skills in your children there is no better way to do it than with books.