Bedtime Stories

beastie-book-basket

I’ve been reading bedtime stories for almost fifteen years. Apart from a few nights that I could probably count on two hands, I’ve read someone a story every night of those years… that’s a lot of stories! It’s one of my favourite times of the day, snuggling up on my bed with my kiddo{s}, ending the day with some stories and hugs, and usually a chat about our day.

Reading to my children at bedtime is one of my favourite traditions, and I love that I have read some of the same books to each of them over the years. We’re not a family of strict routines, preferring rhythms that change through the year and seasons. While little kids like some routine and familiarity, I like a little flexibility. Having a bedtime rhythm means that we can vary the timings depending on what we are doing – I’m not strict about a set bedtime, and the kiddos know what to expect. For my littlest ones, our bedtime rhythm usually consists of a wash {bath or just a quick face wipe, depending!}, teeth cleaned, jammies on, stories, lights out, sleep.

bedtime-stories

Asides from being a lovely point of the bedtime rhythm, being read stories is so important for kiddos brains and literary skills. Even babies benefit from being read to, it’s a fantastic way of introducing the world of make-believe to little kids, encouraging their imaginations and instilling a love of learning.

While my biggest two shun bedtime stories these days {though my 11 year old still joins in our read-aloud sessions in the day time}, Beastie always has bedtime stories, and Baya often joins us. I try and read a chapter of a book to her separately too once Beastie is asleep. We have a zillion books in our house, bookshelves that are bursting with stories. I keep a little basket in my room {as Beastie and I co-sleep}, of Beastie’s current favourite bedtime stories, though I do try and change it once a week or so to keep it interesting for me, he’d happily have the same story over and over for weeks on end!

Here is what is in our bedtime basket this week:

toddler-books