Bedtimes stories are a classic nighttime routine for countless families. You probably see it in movies, your parents probably read to you, and now you're doing it for your child, too. It's impossible to get your child to go to sleep without their nightly story!
As your child listens to you read, a lot is going on in their brains. They're so engrossed in the story that they don't even realize how much they're learning! Children are language sponges, learning new words, syntax, and diction at an incredibly fast space. Reading is one of the most valuable tools we have to encourage language acquisition and development.
We all know how important it is to talk to our children, even when they're in the womb. We want them to know we're here, to learn important words, and become good communicators. Reading a book to children accelerates and supports this development at an incredible rate.
Besides language, reading and storytelling helps children with emotional skills, critical thinking and problem solving, and provides great parent-child bonding time. You'll help prepare them for school and beyond with necessary reading and writing skills, and with the skills to make and maintain healthy relationships. Both of you get to enjoy nighttime cuddles and stories, and you'll know you're setting your little one up for success!
Reading Aids Language Development
According to the Child Mind Institute, reading exposes children to new words and ways of using language that they'd never hear otherwise. Depending on how much your children are read to, they could learn over a million new words. Often young children spend their time with the same groups of people--parents, siblings, family--which means they're exposed to the same language daily. We all fall into language routines, using the same vocabulary and speech patterns.
There's nothing wrong with this; we want our children to learn from us and communicate well with the people closest to them! But reading exposes children to other peoples' ways of speaking. They'll soak up so much vocab, hear all new sentence structures, learn about idioms and common phrases, and so much more.
Just think about when you were a kid and someone read you a Dr. Seuss book for the first time! His tongue-twisting rhymes and uniquely rhythmic sentences probably challenged you. Or when you were a bit older, read your first children's novel, and were blown away by the dynamic characters and attention-grabbing plot.
After you read new stories or books to your kiddo, pay attention to how their language changes. Maybe they heard a word they loved, a joke they thought was funny, or they start experimenting with their sentences. You'll notice a difference!
Children's Books Give Life Lessons and General Knowledge
Education can start before your child enters school, and book for children make it easy for any parent to give their kids a jump start. Even the simplest books for the youngest readers aim to teach lessons or facts. Think about alphabet books that match a letter to an animal or a book about dealing with big emotions.
If you take your kiddo to the zoo, you can point out a giraffe and ask if they can remember a fact about it from a book you read together. Whenever your child experiences a conflict, you can reference their favorite character from a book and ask how they dealt with being upset. Putting life lessons and knowledge in stories makes them stick, and your child will learn so much.
Whether it's an educational board book for toddlers or a kid's novel, your child will learn valuable lessons about the world, themselves, and others through reading.
Problem Solving and Critical Thinking from Reading Books for Kids
Children will also learn how to tackle new, unknown challenges without panicking. If you're helping them learn to read and they see a new word, you can practice sounding it out letter-by-letter with your child. Or, if they don't understand what a word or phrase means, you can help them figure it out based on the context around it.
Your little one will also learn problem solving by following the plot and character's actions in a story. They'll see the characters they love solving problems in unique ways. You can also stop reading for a moment and ask your little one how they think the character will solve their problem.
Children's Stories Encourage Empathy Development
Just like how stories expose children to new words, they also show children other people's perspectives. The more your child reads, the more practice they get seeing the world from someone else's point of view. When your child starts making friends in school, they'll have an easier time understanding how they feel during conflicts or times of stress.
You can encourage your child to practice empathy any time they feel big, hard-to-deal-with emotions. When they're angry, you can ask how a character in their favorite book calmed themselves down. Slumberkins make amazing children's books that teach lessons about emotions, and each set comes with a snuggle stuffed animal to bring the stories to life!
The Parent-Child-Bond From Bedtime Stories
Regularly reading to your child does wonders for your bond, especially in your little one's earliest years. For the first three years of your child's life, they're establishing attachment styles. Having a routine helps your little one know you'll always be there, and a bedtime story is a great way to show your child that.
And, the cuddles during story time are the best! Physical contacts encourages healthy bonding and attachment. Your little one will drift off to sleep better after a good story and calming cuddle.
How Stories Stimulate Imagination
Finally, stories help children practice imaginative play. This feeds into problem solving and critical thinking--a healthy imagination helps children solve problems in unique and new ways. But imagination is also great for arts and learning through play.
After routine reading, you'll notice your child's imaginative playtime get more and more complex. They'll come up with their own characters and plots, some that might span multiple days of play! How cool is that?
Bedtime Stories: The Child Development Superhero
Reading and stories have so many benefits for our child's development, so let's work it into their routine! We can set them up for success in school and their relationships, and we get valuable time with our children while they're young. Win-win!
So, pick out some children's books that focus on learning and life lessons, and get started young! Gibbs Smith's BabyLit collection teaches a variety of lessons, Jellycat makes great sensory books for toddlers, and nothing is better for emotional intelligence than Slumberkins. Happy reading!
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