This scene is all too familiar to any parent…
You’re running late from work, pick the kids up on the way
and arrive at the gate only to remember that you have no milk or bread in the
house. The last thing you need now is to hang out at Pick ‘n Pay at 17:30 with
your hungry, grumpy children. After fighting over which trolley to use, which
bread to buy, why sweets are not a good idea and why you can’t carry two
children and three shopping bags at once, you make it to the car alive!
It is now 18:00. You get home, cook scrambled eggs, force
feed the required carrot stick to settle your conscience, wrestle them into the
bath, have a lengthy conversation about why one can’t sleep in boots and are
about to switch the light off when a sweet little voice says, “Mommy, you
forgot to read us a bedtime story?”
You’re tempted to:
A:
Say that the behaviour they displayed today does not deserve a book!
B:
Pretend you didn’t hear the question, switch the light off and run!
C: Offer
a short episode of Mickey Mouse Club House instead.
These are ALL human responses – and besides, after the day
you’ve had, reading Green Eggs and Ham for the 50th time in a month
may just push you over the edge!
If this sounds all too familiar, take a deep breath… and consider
the following.
After the busy day you and your children have had, a book is
likely to calm you all down and in many cases children who are read to sleep
better than those who watch a cartoon or two before bed.
There are many academic benefits too. Reading
to a child improves language development and reading and writing skills. It will also foster a love for books and
hopefully an internal motivation to read to themselves at a later stage.
Research shows that children with a genuine interest in leisurely reading are
likely to do better in Maths and English - not to mention the food that books
provide for a hungry imagination. Most importantly the simple act of reading
that bedtime story fosters a parent-child bond which is invaluable.
Your child is never too young or old for a bedtime story,
make it part of a routine, something they can look forward to and learn from.
I hope that the next time you are asked the dreaded question,
after one of ‘those’ days, you’ll be able to pick this option:
D:
Hide ‘Green Eggs and Ham’, snuggle into bed and share a bedtime story with your
little one.
Jenny Karsen – The Bumble Bee
Play School, published in The Franschhoek Tatler
Looking for good books to read to your pre-schooler? www.commonsensemedia.org/book-lists
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