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September 10, 2024

Improved Literacy, Stronger Bonds & Better Sleep: The Benefits of Bedtime Reading

For many children, developing a simple but consistent bedtime routine helps ease them into sleep mode while signaling to their brains that it’s time to wind down. Bedtime routines are often a parent’s secret to fewer tears and a calmer goodnight.

A great addition to any bedtime routine is reading. Studies and parenting experts agree that reading at bedtime offers significant benefits to children. What are those benefits and how can you make the most of a bedtime reading routine? Let’s explore.

Benefits of Bedtime Reading

The benefits of reading to children at bedtime are both long-term and broad. In addition to contributing to a consistent bedtime routine, reading to children sets them up for a lifetime of improved literacy, language and love of learning.

1. Bonding time

We all lead busy lives, and having enough time to bond with our children is an oft-cited pain point for parents. Reading at bedtime is a fantastic way to build a few minutes of quality time into each day. A bedtime story requires you to slow down and be present. This intimate time together will reinforce a sense of safety and security for your child, strengthening the bond between you and setting the foundation for healthy relationships in the future.

2. Improved language skills

There is no shortage of evidence that children who are read to each day have improved vocabulary skills and earlier language development. In fact, this extends to infants – children who were read to regularly in their first year of life show improved language skills 4 or 5 years later when they enter school.

3. Improved literacy skills

Reading to children at bedtime allows them to share in stories that reach beyond their current comprehension level. This is why it’s recommended that parents continue reading to their children even after the child has independent reading skills. Parents can help with tricky words or sentences, and guide them through increasingly complex story lines and characters. It will also challenge children to read books that they may not have chosen on their own, or encourage them to explore whatever stories interest them.

4. Promotes imagination and conversation

With a parent or trusted grown up there to help explain things they don’t understand, answer questions, ask questions, and discuss the stories, children are opened up to a whole new realm of imagination, and learn to be curious and knowledge-seeking from a young age. These are skills that will benefit them throughout their lives.

5. Improved emotional intelligence

Fictional characters can help represent difficult situations in a way that encourages children to discover how they would feel in that circumstance, or how they may choose to deal with challenges in their own lives. This opportunity to think about the feelings of others enables children to develop empathy at a young age, and have more control over their own challenging emotions like anger, frustration or sadness.

6. Develop a love of reading!

Practice may not always make perfect, but it does make permanent. Developing an early reading habit is likely to stick with them as they grow and develop. A love of reading will open up the whole world to a child, and endlessly expand the possibility of knowledge and exploration throughout a lifetime. A child who loves books at an early age is far more likely to love books when they enter school.

7. Physical relaxation

Reading in bed helps the body unwind while distracting the brain. The heart rate decreases, muscles begin to relax, and breathing rate slows, all of which ease the body into a deeper state of relaxation conducive to sleep.

8. Calms the mind

Getting lost in a story or the words on a page offer your brain a respite from day-to-day thoughts. Often, that divergence in thinking leads to quick, peaceful sleep. Though adults are more likely to need a distraction from life’s stresses, the same principle applies to a child’s brain and allowing them to drift off in a familiar story as a way to allow their minds to relax.

9. No screen time required!

As more and more of our lives put us in front of screens, sitting down with a book is a great way to avoid the blue light and bright screens that dominate so much of our days. Exposure to light, especially from electronic devices, has consistently proven to lead to worse, lower-quality sleep. By winding down with a book instead of a back-lit screen, you’re giving eyes and minds a much needed break, and contributing to healthier sleep habits.

How to Make the Most of a Bedtime Reading Routine

Now that we understand the many benefits of bedtime reading, knowing how to make the most of that time together is important, especially for busy parents.

1. Commit to the routine

You don’t have to spend an hour reading to your child each night. If you are crunched for time, choose 1 or 2 short books or chapters and make the space in your evening to read. If there are other parents or adults in the household, trade off nights so that your child can count on this routine without requiring one person to do it every night. It doesn’t take a lot of reading for children to reap the benefits!

2. Start early

Add reading to the bedtime routine as early as possible – yes, even infants! On the flip side, children benefit from having parents read to them well into school-age, so don’t stop just because your child learns to read on their own!

3. Alternate who chooses the book

Allowing your child to choose the book or story promotes independence and autonomy, and ensures they are reading books they enjoy. But challenging them to hear and read stories they may not have chosen on their own helps expand their horizons and promote curiosity across a broader range of topics.

4. Get cozy!

You may want to climb into your child’s bed and lay next to them while you read, creating a physical bond that reinforces their sense of security. Hearing your voice can be soothing and calming, and sharing in the experience together both physically and mentally will enhance the benefits for both of you!

5. Choose physical books over digital formats

Back to the screen time point – if possible, choose printed books over reading from a screen or electronic device. This is better for sleep, and creates a more tangible experience!

6. Have fun with it!

If you’re reading to young children, go ahead and do the voices – we promise, they will be too delighted to judge your performance! If you’re reading to older children, stop and ask questions, or find out how certain passages make them feel. Choose books that have funny characters or aspects. Reading should be fun!

7. Use books to explore relevant topics

Books are a great way for children to learn how they might navigate the world. Bedtime stories can be chosen to reinforce lessons they’re learning in school, lessons you’re working on at home, or difficult circumstances to help your child learn to cope. Think: losing a grandparent or pet, starting a new school, trying something new, getting along with siblings, etc.

Any Reading is Better Than None

When it comes down to it, reading to your children is one of the best things you can do for their development. While building it into a nightly, ironclad bedtime routine is ideal, we all know that being a parent is a hectic job that doesn’t always allow for “ideal.” Reading to your child when you have time, and prioritizing it whenever possible, will still pay off in the long run and realize many of the benefits above. And while you’re at it, add reading to your bedtime routine and reap those benefits yourself!