Is it possible to be to young for a bedtime story? I don’t think so. Ben was just 5 weeks old when we started to read to him every night as part of his bedtime routine. You might find yourself thinking “Really? What’s the point? It’s not like they can talk or understand it anyway?”
Dave and I started reading a bedtime story to Ben when he was a tiny baby, which seemed common sense to us at the time as part of his “bedtime routine” but I can see how people may think it was a bit pointless reading to such a young child. However, at 6, he is now a great lover of books and has an ever increasing vocabulary and a grasp of language far higher than I would say is necessarily expected for his age. I am sure this is in part down to the amount of reading we do with him. Now into his third year of full time school it is a real pleasure to watch him learning to read for himself and moving quickly onto new, harder books all the time.
Both girls also share a love of books and stories. Although we might not find much time to sit and read during the day, the bedtime story is law. We have a huge collection of books – which is as much for Dave and my sanity as it is for the children’s benefit – if you’ve ever had to read the same book seven nights in a row you’ll understand why!
Now that Ben is becoming an increasingly confident reader he sometimes likes to take on the role of reading the bedtime story – which is adorable to hear. He often chooses to read independently now, taking a book to bed with him to read before he goes to sleep or if he wakes to early in the morning. It would be easy to think he no longer needed a bedtime story now that he can read for himself but I really don’t think that’s the case.
Not so! Apart from the fact that it’s just a really lovely way to spend quality time with your children just think of the opportunities to broaden their experiences and talk to them about words or concepts they might not have come across before. You can ensure they really understand what you are reading together, discuss their opinions of characters and situations. Not only will all of this contribute to developing their own reading but it will also contribute to improving their written work! I especially love sharing books with my children that I enjoyed as a child myself; I can’t imagine stopping reading to them. Children love being read to and this doesn’t stop when they can read themselves. How often do you read to your children?
