What does bedtime look like in your home? From peaceful slumber to battleground – we’ve seen it all. And while you can fill an entire library with books on the latest sleep training method and advice from well-meaning parents, there is one thing experts agree helps. Have a good bedtime routine.
Young children especially need a way to know that their day is coming to an end, and bedtime routines do just that. There’s a lot of research on why routines are so helpful – from longer, more peaceful sleep to the ability to self-soothe.
We think the best bedtime routines include a story! Bedtime stories are short, sweet, and easy to do every night. Set aside a few minutes each night before bed with phones and screens turned off to share a book.
The beauty of bedtimes stories is that the benefits go way beyond good sleep. Research shows that children who read regularly with their parents as part of their bedtime routine show improvement in language, reading and literacy rates, and school readiness. How great is that? Books really are the “gold standard” of bedtime routines.
It’s also a great bonding activity that helps your child grow to love reading. And if you’ve used bedtime stories as a way to calm your child before bed you might find that bringing out a book is a great way to calm your child during fussy periods of the daytime too.
