Parents Develop Bedtime Story Rituals

Do you and your youngsters have bedtime story rituals? Is reading a story to young children or allowing them to read at bedtime a fun occasion in your family?

Some of my fondest childhood memories center around bedtime stories.  When we four children were very young, Mother read to us.  We piled on one another’s beds, alternating each evening, while she read chapters from Heidi, Robinson Crusoe, Little Women, and Tom Sawyer.

Then, often during the day, we might act out these stories.  I particularly recall our pretend jaunts around the Swiss Mountains as we visited Heidi, Peter, Clara and Grandfather.

When we were older, reading in bed before I went to sleep was a pleasure that has carried over to adulthood.  Story time became a ritual with our daughter and now grandchildren.  All of us, in our three generation household, read whenever we have a chance and particularly when we crawl into bed.

When parents have bedtime story rituals with their children, they’re developing traditions that often will carry over into future generations.