Bedtime Story Fun!

Creative ways to make your bedtime stories more engaging for your child!

As parents we try to spend as much time as we can with our little ones all through the day. However, how you utilize those precious minutes just when you and your child are about to sleep, is equally important. One routine that can prove really effective is reading bedtime stories. This not only sharpens their memory but also enhances their creative thinking. Here are a few ways of making this routine more interesting.

Choosing the right book: A story that works for your friend’s baby may not seem interesting to your child. So while choosing the story book, keep the interest of your child in mind. Think of the kind of topics they like, the themes that would work for them, the illustrations that would captivate them the most. In short, spend some time in the bookstore before picking up that one book which would be perfect for your child..

Narrating it right: Let’s say you found that perfect story book. Now comes the more important part; how you narrate the story. It is important to understand that the goal is not to just read the story; the aim is to let your child’s imagination take flight. Use hand gestures, pitch variation, etc., to make sure you are able to hold the child’s attention.

Incorporating games: No matter how interesting the stories are, eventually the routine can begin to seem very exhausting and monotonous. This is when creative games come into play. One such game is where you and your child build a story together. You say one line and ask the child to imagine how the story would develop and make them say the next line. Keep taking turns while building the story.

Increasing child involvement: As kids get older, they may not enjoy just lying down and passively listening to a story. They would want to contribute, ask questions, give inputs, and more. One way to satiate their ever-growing curiosity is to make them imagine how the story should end. Let them imagine the ending of the story on their own.

Interacting after the story: The conversation that you have with your child after a story finishes is just as important as the story-telling itself. Encourage them to ask questions, discuss difficult words, talk about the characters, etc. Also, you can incorporate some kind of lesson or moral that the child can take away from the story.

It is never too early to start reading to your child. So go ahead and make the most of every opportunity you get to read to them!