Why the bedtime story is so important for your kids

It’s not surprising that sleep is so heavily featured in these enchanted tales. Sleep is a magical time of day where our brains conjure up all sorts of strange and, potentially, meaningful images. So storytellers will go out of their way to include it.

Reading bedtime stories to your kids is just as important as feeding them.

The benefits of a bedtime routine

Telling bedtime stories is an activity that has been around for many years…hundreds even thousands of years! You might take reading a story to your kids for granted, but it actually has a huge impact and influence on children and can have a wide-ranging benefits.

Establishes a bedtime routine

As all parents know; it’s vital that a daily routine is kept to. By sharing a bedtime story, it helps establish a good routine to get them ready to go to sleep.

We humans are creatures of habit and we require routines that our body clocks can rely on. Kids are even more reliant on these routines as they aren’t as adaptable as adults. By reading a story at bedtime every night, you can strengthen that routine by giving your kid’s brain an essential signal to get ready for rest.

Stories at bedtime can also have a positive emotional impact on sleep. If your kids really enjoy your stories, it’s likely to be a highlight of their day, so they are much more likely to look forward to bedtime. As kids can have a love/hate relationship with bedtime and sleep, anything you can do to help them see bedtime in a positive light will only be a good thing.

Develops good behaviour and imaginative thinking

Another benefit of the bedtime story is how it can impact on the way your kids behave and think. A 2018 study by New York University School of Medicine found that kids whose parents read to them were less hyperactive and aggressive, as well as improving attention span.

This can also have a positive effect when bedtime rolls around as your child will be much more likely to drift off peacefully to sleep without fuss or bother.

If you want your kids to be imaginative and creative, reading together is definitely something you should bring into your bedtime routine. A lot of research such as this this study has been done over the years into the effects of sharing a bedtime story, and it’s been found that children who read develop a much broader vocabulary and are able to think more creatively than those who don’t.

Adds a sense of security

Parents will, naturally, want their kid to feel secure in their own bed, especially when they are at the age when “monsters under the bed” and nightmares become more common. Fortunately, spending time together at the end of the day reading or telling your kids a story can help them associate bedtime with a feeling of safety.

Sharing a book together can help reinforce a sense of closeness as they slowly drift off to sleep, but it can also be used to communicate a positive message that will help them relax. They will also sleep more soundly… just make sure you’re not reading the latest horror bestseller before bed!

Boost parent-child bonding

We have already mentioned how reading at bedtime can promote a feeling of closeness between you and your kids, but it can also help build an emotional connection. Create a little joke around part of the story or particular character that made you both laugh to expand the opportunities for you to share your knowledge and experiences.

Even when your little ones start becoming not-so-little ones you can still keep story time. For instance, you could share your love of sci-fi or fantasy with your kids, and that shared tale has the potential to be a positive influence for the rest of your relationship. And who knows; they might even develop the same passion for reading the same kind of books as you that they’ll enjoy for the rest of their lives.

Bedtime stories for your kids are nothing but a benefit to you and them. Have adventures together without leaving the comfort of your (hopefully) Dormeo mattress!