The Benefits of Reading to Your Children before Bed

Bedtime stories impart positive effects that can last a lifetime.

Many of us have fond memories of listening to stories before bedtime as children, and many of us have carried on the tradition with our own kids. While it certainly is a great way to close out a long day for both you and your children, there are actually far more benefits to it than you’d expect. Let’s take a look at the most notable benefits of reading bedtime stories to your children.

It Teaches Them Language Skills

By reading to your child regularly, you’re constantly exposing them to new words, teaching them how sentences are constructed and flow, and how to put those teachings into practice. The more you read to them, the more eloquent of a reader and writer they’ll become, continuing to develop their skills far past the age of bedtime stories.

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It Encourages Them to Keep Reading Later in Life

In encouraging your children to learn with your help, you encourage them to continue learning on their own throughout their lives. They’ll develop a love of reading and the rich culture surrounding it, becoming well-spoken, well-rounded individuals, and they’ll do the same for their children. By starting now with reading bedtime stories, you can foster a multi-generational family of avid readers and knowledge seekers who will go on to make a difference in their communities.

It Encourages Them to Concentrate

In a world of TV and short-form internet videos, studies show a marked decrease in the attention spans of today’s children. Reading to your child, however, takes time, and if they want to hear the full story, they’ll have to concentrate on you to do so. Learning this skill now will allow them to maintain a greater attention span in other situations as well, whether that’s their first foray into school or even into the professional world a bit further along.

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It Creates Time for Bonding

Of course, the most important element of reading to your children before bed is the chance it provides for you to bond. In an always-moving culture of hustle and bustle, it often seems that the little things fall by the wayside. This makes it all the more important to carve out time for these moments, and reading to your children is one of the best ways to accomplish this.

As important as it is to promote a love of reading in your children, the libraries of your community are always there to help. If you’d like to learn more about the services that libraries provide or how you can help them in return, feel free to visit us at EveryLibrary today!

Visit www.everylibrary.org to learn more about our work on behalf of libraries.

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