Does bedtime reading help children sleep?

Expecting a baby is such a special yet confusing time, especially for first-time parents. The moment you step out of the hospital, you realise that you are on your own, tending to the new human being you brought into the world. Is he hungry again? How do I get the baby to sleep? How “wet” should the diaper get before the baby needs a change? 

These questions are inevitable for every new parent. And, most of the time, you’d only get the answer through experience. On most days you’d wish that the baby came with a manual! 

Probably the most common problem among every parent (whether you’re a parent of an infant or a toddler) is how to get the child to sleep. From infanthood to toddlerhood, the painstaking task of putting the child to sleep is challenging as ever. You try everything from bath time stories to bedtime stories, but nothing seems to work. After trying one trick after another, you have probably asked yourself more than twice: does bedtime reading help children sleep? 

Bedtime reading can be a real lifesaver for parents. It’s a simple and effective way of helping your child relax and fall asleep. It’s also a great way to spend quality time with your child and bond with them.

The beauty of bedtime routines is that it teaches children to relax as you set the mood for them to sleep. Bedtime reading improves relaxation in children as it induces sleepiness. When regularly done, children grow to associate bedtime reading with sleep, that’s why it can be said that bedtime reading is an effective sleeping aid. According to Dr Jannet Kennedy PhD, a clinical psychologist: over time, bedtime reading actually triggers and enhances sleepiness and relaxation because of that association. With repetition, bedtime reading becomes a very powerful sleep cue.

How To Build A Reading Habit

Guiding your child into building a love for reading starts by choosing the right book for them. While some suggest reading lengthy, famous-authored books to the little ones, I would say it still pays to follow their pace. Choose books that your child will love, rather than books that you force them to love. After all, you want to create an enjoyable reading experience for the child because it is the foundation of a life-long love for reading! 

A study by the National Literacy Trust found that children are more engaged when they are reading books with personalised elements. The same study found that children’s reading comprehension increase by 40% when they are reading personalised storybooks! It’s logical that kids are more inclined to read books they can relate to. After all, having a sense of ownership in the text is an important element in perceiving oneself as a reader (Dymore and Griffiths, 2010). 

Bedtime reading has numerous benefits. Development of language and literacy are two of its two most obvious advantages. Aside from intellectual and academic advantages, bedtime reading also brings emotional and relational benefits to the parent and child. Cuddling during bedtime reading allows children and parents to be physically close, which acts as a kind of emotional security check-in.

In addition to its emotional benefit, bedtime reading is also found to improve children’s mental health. Studies found that children who read books for enjoyment are actually more mentally-well than children who don’t as books provide an “escape” from the daily stresses of life. Bedtime reading also gives the little ones something to concentrate on and diverts their attention from daily stresses and frustrations, enabling their body’s exhaustion to take control and lull them to sleep.

So, if you’re a parent struggling with a restless toddler and have trouble getting good sleep at night, it’s about time that you consider bedtime reading. It is the most effective way to get your child to sleep, while it also brings other benefits to you and your child!