When my oldest children were young I read to them every single night. We had a very strict routine as well as a very firm bedtime. I was a fan of the routine and schedule. Some people might have accused me of being overly tied to it. But I did not care. Come 7:00 pm, my kids were bathed, pajamed, read to, and tucked into their beds. And the rest of the evening was mine to enjoy in peace and quiet.
Now the I have older children, who often have evening activities, many days we do not sit down to eat dinner until 8:30pm. Sometimes, it is even later. Bedtime routines are virtually non-existent, even for my four and five year old. We never have time for bedtime stories anymore.
Now this doesn’t mean I don’t read to my children, I do. In fact I would say that we read quite a bit, but at bedtime? No.
According to a study in Great Britain, three quarters of British parents say they are too busy to read bedtime stories to their children.
While 95 per cent of parents have read to their children at some point, only five per cent of those polled read to their children during the day.
More than one in ten said they read every couple of weeks or less, and five per cent could not remember the last time they shared a book.
I have to admit that I am shocked by these statistics. Ten percent only read to their children every couple of weeks? And five percent can not remember the last time they read to their children? That is unbelievable.
I had a friend who worked in early childhood education tell me that she was initially shocked by the number of children who would come to school the first day and have no idea what to do with a book or how to hold it. Children who had obviously never been read to. Books and reading are such a huge part of my life that I can not even fathom this.
When we recently moved the moving men told me that they had never before seen a family with so many books. It made me oddly proud, since most of them belong to my children and have been read.
So what about you? Do you have a bedtime routine that involves reading bedtime stories? Or do you do your reading at other times of the day? As I typed this I just began wondering if I worked outside of the home and wasn’t here with my little ones all day if I would make the time for bedtime reading.
I’m a SAHM, so maybe I have more time, but a bedtime story has been part of the routine since she was born. Rarely during the day, unless she asks. Occasionally, it’ll be a made-up story (no book), or looking for stuff in a few pages of an “I Spy” type book instead.
Comment by Brigitte — March 9, 2009 @ 8:30 am
I work outside of the home full time and we still find time to read. Sometimes activities prevent us from reading before bed, but it always seems to fit in somewhere. We also go through spurts where some weeks we read a lot and some weeks not so much. Sometimes we’ll read all of the library books we checked out when we get home. We’ve moved a few times and have received comments about our book collection also.
Comment by Sharon — March 9, 2009 @ 9:29 am
We have a firm bedtime routine that has gotten a little floppy because of activites. I am really scared of what will happen when we add the third in July. However, we do read to the kids before bed almost every night. Sometimes it is just too late. My husband has taken on this, since he doesn’t see the kids for most of the day.
My daughter still gets read to at school(first grade) and my son will often ask for a book before naptime. Last night, my daughter read to herself from a chapter book that she asked for from the book fair. It was nice to see her sit down and read a book by herself, although she still claims that reading is boring.
Comment by SoMo — March 9, 2009 @ 12:33 pm
I was both SAHM for a time and working mom during my son’s pre-school and elementary years. I read to him many times each day and ALWAYS at bedtime from the day he came home from the hospital. When he was a toddler and took naps we read a book before naptime too. It was a cherished routine for both of us.
Comment by Lori — March 10, 2009 @ 11:36 am
I work full time and don’t always get home very early, but our bedtime routine is strictly adhered to and reading is a part of it every night. Most nights we read 20-30 minutes. My kids get very angry if I try to skip reading if it is too late. Even if it is very late we take 5 minutes to read a short book. They can’t go to sleep without it.
Comment by Kathleen — March 10, 2009 @ 4:40 pm
We do the bedtime reading on most nights.
By far MY favorite time to read is when they’re going stir crazy at a restaurant or while getting an oil change – it gets their brains involved right away.
A smart phone with kids books loaded on it is a godsend. If you’re interested, take a look at ereader.com.
Comment by Dave — March 12, 2009 @ 9:55 pm
My kids do love their bedtime stories. Even if the stories are short. I guess just the fact that mom is sitting down with them for a minute with her undivided attention tickles them. It’s also seems to make them feel reassured before those lights go out.
Comment by Pamela La Gioia — March 21, 2009 @ 9:29 am
My son is in the 1st grade this year-6 years old almost 7 and we have graduated from me reading him bedtime stories to him reading them to me or us reading them together by taking turns reading the pages. I love this because it gives me a chance to see how well his reading skills are improving. At the book fair this year I sent money with him to school and he brought home his very first chapter book. We are planning on starting it soon. I admit though with working and me being in school full-time, I don’t sit down with him as much as I used to, but try to as much as possible.
Comment by Angela — March 30, 2009 @ 9:36 am
Mykids love thebedtim stories and so do I.In fact Isent to them an indirect message to learn them or attention them about thier behavior
Comment by wessam — March 30, 2009 @ 9:56 pm
I have read to my kids every night since they were about 5months I attribute this to my daughter being able to read at age 5 and my 4 year old is on the way. We also read the food boxes and anything else that my children asks me to read to them. We have a very large book collection with audio books a good resource for the kids when you can’t read to them. My children also enjoy chapter books of all kinds but exspecially Junnie B Jones, and The magic tree house.
Comment by Carla — March 31, 2009 @ 10:52 pm