Reading at Bedtime

Reading at Bedtime

As parent’s and caregivers our responsibilities are vast and many times overwhelming. We fret about our children’s health and safety, their social skills and friendships, their intelligence and school performance and on and on. We want to give them all the advantages and building blocks they need to be happy and successful. We want to foster their strengths and help them overcome their challenges.  All while balancing the hundreds of other things we have to do.

What I try to remember for myself is that spending any amount of time with your children where you are truly focused on them and the activity you are doing is the most valuable and important time you can spend together.

For me, reading books at bedtime is a precious time for connecting with my boys and trying to impart some parental wisdom. Snuggled up on the couch or in their beds, I have an easier time being present. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes the pull of post-sleep adult time elicits a strong desire to speed through the process, but mostly I cherish the time and try to make the most of the undivided attention we can give each other.  

Here’s some tips for creating a fun bedtime reading routine:

How to survive the favorite book

Although you may feel like you are going to lose it if you have to go on a Bear Hunt one more time, there are many benefits for the repetition of reading the same book over and over.  Here are some suggestions to make it tolerable:

•  Use your child’s love of their favorite book to your advantage

At one point, I felt like poor little Chang and wasn't sure if I could say Tikki Tikki TemboNo Sa Rembo one more time. But, by that time, my youngest had the name and much of the story memorized.  Often I would say “I am pretty tired tonight, can you tell me the story?” I would have to help him sometimes with questions like “What did Chang do next?” or by reading the beginning of a sentence but he could usually get us through the story pretty well.

• Make games out of the book

My husband’s favorite game is to say the wrong words to the boy’s favorite books. “Twinkle, Twinkle little JAR.” “No dad, STAR!” they squeal in delight.

Just as Goodnight Moon was beginning to be intolerable, we discovered there was a mouse on each of the colored pages. Sometimes the mouse is in an obvious place but sometimes it was a mini game of search and find to locate the little guy.

Here are some Stephen Cartwright books from Usborne Books & More with a little duck on each page.

• Spin offs

Finding the mouse in Goodnight Moon with my second son was not quite as novel, so I was overjoyed when their older cousin who works in a bookstore sent us Goodnight iPad. There must be thousands of versions of every Disney story, Fairy Tale and many others. Try different versions to shake things up.   Try different books by the same author.   We love borrowing books from our local library because the books are just borrowed and so even if we read one endlessly it can be return in two weeks.

Here are some Usborne Books & More Fairy Tale books. They come in collections, beautiful laser cut flap books and even ones with masks to act out the story!

 And then move on

Okay, enough is enough. Sometimes it is up to you to expand your child’s horizons and show them what else is out there. How can they truly know what their favorite book, subject or character is when there are so many they haven’t met yet.  I have different tolerance levels for my sons’ favorites. Thomas the Train and Dora the Explorer quickly make it to my “If I have to read this book one more time, I am going to GAG” List.  Some of my favorites are ones my boys would never select but do enjoy once I start reading.  So, generally I have them pick one book to read and I get to pick the other. I have been known to gently or humorously dissuade them from their “Gag” book of the week. “I can’t do it! I can’t read another Star Wars book. Please DON’T MAKE ME DO IT! But, if you let me pick the book tonight, we can read Star Wars tomorrow.”

Your child WILL forgive you and maybe even deep down appreciate it if you limit how many times he or she reads the same book over and over. Your child’s comprehension will naturally grow and the books on his book shelf should match his current level.

That isn't to say that you shouldn't try to select books that your children will enjoy. The Broomfield Public Library has these great bookmarks with lists of books in different categories and I'm sure your library does as well. This was a life saver when my eldest was going through his Thomas the Train obsession, refusing to read any book that didn't at least have a train in it.  As we were exploring train books it was fun to rediscover the Little Engine that Could, one of my childhood favorites. And of course the internet is a great resource for book lists of all kinds.

Nibbles the Book Monster has become a favorite book for Usborne Books & More fans across the county. There are so many little details in the delightful book that it will take many a read to tire of it.

The right tip at the right time

You have probably read the literature on how to create a reader and prepare your child for school. There are often many helpful tips. Most of the time though, they make me feel guilty that I am not doing enough. So I try to remember that my ultimate goal is to foster a love of reading.  Your child is much more likely to love books if they believe you love them too, if they are engaged and if reading with you is fun (for both of you).

Yes, it will help your child’s reading comprehension if you put your finger under each word as you read but, you are kind of wasting your time with your infant who can’t even begin to comprehend the meaning of what a word is.  ISo try to use your common sense about what ages to utilize different reading strategies.  Do what feels natural. Usborne's Very First Reading Set was one of the main reasons I joined the company. Besides the fact that the books get progressively more difficult and have a dual reader feature... they have little activities at the end that showed me how to help my kiddos differentiate between words, ask questions to see if they were comprehending the story and so much more!  

Reading with different voices is fun, occasionally, but it is definitely not my strong suit. I forget what voice goes with what character, I drop the voices altogether mid-way through, I am embarrassed by my own lack of ability in this area. Some books like  I absolutely cannot read without my gruffest voice “Who’s that trip trappin over my bridge?” 

As I mentioned above, sometimes we just want our kids to go to sleep and that is okay. At least once a week, maybe on the weekend, have some reading time where you go with the flow a little and don’t stick to the two books a night rule. Ask your child questions and let the conversation go where they lead it. It is amazing to hear what they have to say about the world when we stop to listen.