What is the last thing you do with your children before they fall asleep? This is a post for vindicate the role of shared reading in the life of your children, to remember the benefits of reading to your children, but above all to warn about some bad practices that can make it difficult for children to fall asleep, and even that can cause it to be not so pleasant as it should
Michelle Garrison (of the Seattle Childhood Research Institute) claimed not many years ago that electronic stimulation before bedtime, may affect children's sleep and its thought processes. He advised avoiding exposure from at least one hour before going to bed; and made it a bit more flexible, stating that "if you are going to allow the child to watch TV or turn on the tablet at night, try to make the contents appropriate to his age".
The American Academy of Pediatrics is a bit more conservative (and more according to my lifestyle): after a study a year ago it was said that children who watch television for the last 90 minutes before going to bed, took more in falling asleep. What does it cost us to take them to your room to read them a little, put them soft music or keep them company at some times of the day when we have the opportunity to enjoy each other in a relaxed and unhurried way?
Reading may or may not be integrated into the sleeping routine, although the truth is so beneficial that I think I do wrong if I do not recommend it periodically
Maeva publisher recalled the other day through a tweet that the "Book Lovers" never go to bed alone, and although now the children are small and have our company even for a few years, it is a nice idea to convey that the written stories (and the oral ones) are by our side when we want them to be.
We have seen that there is no reason to read our children at night (although "there are any"); but also book values can help them understand situations they face, emotions that can not explain ... Without counting on the magic of the stories you open together at night, and with the surprise of discovering an outcome, or admiring a wonderful illustration.
Reading them before bed, and also encouraging them to read at that time helps to develop the imagination, and above all directly affects the interest that children have in literature (although this dissipates in preadolescence). Sometimes I read or listen to discussions about “better to read or read?”, I honestly do not see such incompatibility, my own and other people's experiences confirm that the former favors the latter, and they are practices that can lead to a “today I read me to dad - to mom - “.
Do not pay attention to that of “is he 9 years old? then don't read him that he is very big ”, why not read to a 9-year-old boy? It is clear that he knows how to read by himself, and he does it also by understanding and knowing how to express what the reading transmits to him, why then veto The pleasure of listening to your mother or father read to you while together in bed? The only limit is that the child imposes, it is they who decide that they no longer feel like it, and they do it before the age of 14, so don't worry so much.
I know that in practice we spend the day reading things, well, more or less, because even adults often read to consume, not to understand, not to enjoy. But it is that those 10 night minutes per child give a lot, so that the children will probably end up soon reaching higher reading levels than their age. Reading seems to be deprecated, but we can contribute to keep the interest in reading the childrens, at least we can continue transmitting fantasy, morals, emotion, surprise, ... through our voice. Think that for your children to have beautiful memories of the family relationship when they grow up, you have to collaborate a little and facilitate those moments, for them and also for you.
Now that we have resumed the practice at home after a few months, I wanted to invite you to do the same, and I want to further expand the topic by analyzing the suitability of different children's literary genres before bedtime.
By the way my oldest son no longer read him (for a year and a half or so), but he is still interested in his sister's readings, and even participates from the top of the bunk (integrates things he has read in other books), the ability they have to retain when reading has worked since they were babies is fascinating. It is one of the ideas that we gathered in this post to encourage reading also in children who are no longer babies: "read to the brothers in their presence".
Images | Ginny and John Woods, giovanni_giusti, Lars Plougmann In Peques and More | We tell you how to feed and protect the routine of reading to children before bedtime, Creating reasonable sleep habits ... also in adolescence
