I read stories to my kids – Aarav and Aarna – who are 4 years old and 3 years old respectively, whenever I find some free time – which is mostly in the weekends or during holidays, but I make it a point to read a short story or at least a part of a story every night. Reading to children just before they go to bed gets their imagination soaring and helps us, as parents, to grow an honest and healthy bond with our children.
So let’s get to it!
How to read a perfect bedtime story for kids
On a list of how-to blogs, this one is probably something you’d find towards the end. Nevertheless, I thought I’d touch upon this topic to help moms and dads who are trying to perfect storytime with their little weasels.
Make it a routine
Firstly, pick a time say, 8 o’clock every night, and make it a point to read to your children at that time every day. Storytime will signal to them that it’s time to put the day behind, wind down and drift into a peaceful sleep. This will, in the long term, (hopefully) induce a healthy reading habit.
Add some enthusiasm
Make the story you’re reading interesting by using voices for the characters in the story. Children’s books illustrate stories so that get kids excited to flip to the next page. You can add to this but making squeaky voices for the silly characters or demonstrating your own version of the evil laughter. This way, you will emotionally translate characters to your children easily.
Create and recreate
Find books that are developmentally appropriate for your child of 4 or 7 years. Start with simple stories such as “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” and move on to stories that are more complex. Occasionally, you can create your own stories using your imagination. You don’t have to worry about being unimaginative, your little one will love your stories no matter what! If you still think you can’t create a story, you can always pick up a classic story, like say, Goldilocks and tweak the characters. You could also describe anecdotes from your childhood and give yourself a name.
Involve your child
For the tiny tots who are yet to learn how to read, you can ask them what they see in the pictures in the book or make them hold the book and flip pages while you read. The older ones can read along with you or you could say, “And then…” and let your child read the rest of the sentence. This will also put your child in the reading habit early.
So, this is how I make storytelling at bedtime interesting for my kids. Let me know what you think!
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