Guest Post : Benefits of Adding Reading to your Child’s Bedtime Routine

 

Here on The Phantom Paragrapher, I love to give writers out there the opportunity to guest post on my site and today we have Maria Hughes.

Maria Hughes is a children’s book enthusiast, parent and writer. She enjoys blogging about reading and bedtime stories for children. 

Benefits of Adding Reading to your Child’s Bedtime Routine

It’s no secret that reading provides countless benefits to children’s development, but sometimes getting kids interested in reading can be challenging. Incorporating reading into your child’s bedtime routine will provide these benefits while also allowing you to change their perspective on reading. Here are the benefits of making reading a part of your young child’s bedtime routine.

Relaxation:

While it might be difficult trying to get your toddler to sit still for reading time at night, don’t let that discourage you. Let your child play quietly with a toy while you read, because eventually the sound of your voice will remind them of their bedtime routine and books will be a memorable part of that. Keeping a routine with reading will help grow their attention span over time. When they think of reading, they will associate that with a soothing, relaxed feeling that will likely continue when they begin reading to themselves someday. Night time or pre-nap reading can also help children sleep due to this relaxing association. 

Language Skills:

This is one of the many benefits reading brings no matter what time you read, however having a routine time for reading can help improve concentration which will help enhance the learning from books. Begin reading to your child as early as possible as they grow and develop they will learn new words from your reading. Studies have proven that a larger word vocabulary leads to strong language skills. Additionally reading aloud can help improve brain development. 

Logic:

Most children have a favorite story that they may want read repeatedly for weeks. Try to be accepting and patient of this, because though it can be frustrating reading a book repeatedly can strengthen a child’s logic skills. Children often won’t notice everything the first time reading a book, but as they become familiar with it they will be able to start associating patterns and prediction skills which will be beneficial for math, science and writing. These skills won’t stop growing from reading when your child grows into a pre-teen or teen, so it’s important to continue the reading tradition. 

In addition to these benefits, reading will allow you to bond with your child. Reading together will provide time for you to relax and spend designated time together. It’s important to start a reading routine early in your child’s life to foster interest in reading that will continue throughout their development. You won’t regret making time for reading!