The "Read Before Bed" Recommendation and Why It Doesn't Have To Be That Way

There are so many blog posts and articles about the benefits of reading to your kids before bed, but seriously, who has the time? As a new mom, I am ashamed to admit that I barely squeeze in one book before bedtime a couple times a week. Mind you, my child is only one so our books are not even very long (we’re talking 8 pages max usually) and mostly involve pictures. As a speech pathologist and now literacy advocate, this is embarrassing. I know that kids model what they see at home, but this isn’t really a question of whether or not we want to read ourselves to set good examples. I mean, most of us WANT to read, right? When I first had my daughter, I set a couple of goals. One of which was to read one book per quarter. Hah. I mean, I do want to read that Sandra Day O’Connor book but it is legit 400 pages. I also really want to read Omnivores Dilemma, but the first page made me fall asleep. Oh and don’t get me started on The Happiest Toddler on the Block. That makes me remember that I really want to read Educated because it got such good reviews. My “reading” after a child basically consists of flipping through the pages and hoping something really inspiring or habit-breaking comes through. Now, my quarterly reading goals have been totally squashed by a rambunctious one year old who only naps for one hour once a day and is otherwise turning our apartment into a category 8 earthquake site. As I was venting about this to our Clinical Director of Indy Speech Services, Taylor, she brought up a good point that made me take a pause:

You don’t have to read before bed.

That might not have had the same effect here as it did in person, but what she intended to convey was that I was putting a lot of pressure on myself to get 3-4 books in every day. The truth is, what most kids need in toddler and preschool years, when they rely heavily on us, is to speak to them about their day and what is to come the next day. In other words, a nightly routine of discussing what happened and what will happen tomorrow helps kids organize the day’s events, begin to understand time concepts and sequence their activities to adjust better during transitions. This nightly talk can be done during dinner time, bath time or even teeth-brushing time. It doesn’t have to be a “let’s sit down and formalize this as a daily routine” type of thing. It will have great benefits to your child’s executive functioning skills.

“You don’t have to read before bed, just talk through the day and what will come tomorrow”

So, what about encouraging reading at home? Let’s try to set apart time for that during the weekends or when we have the time because that is actually what we do as adults! We read for fun when we can because it is not a chore that we must do. Let’s stop taking the joy out of reading by forcing it. We now leave books everywhere at home. On the tables, floor, toy chest, etc. They are everywhere and when we can, we sneak one in because it is fun but not because we have to “read before bed” or bust! If you do want to integrate something that is really beneficial to their growth, storytelling about the day and sequencing the coming day is a great and stimulating cognitive activity.