Getting children into bed can be a full-time job, familiar? Sometimes children still have too much energy and can chat for hours, while other times they try to prolong staying awake for as long as possible. For anyone who is tired or has run out of creative solutions to get their child into bed, we have the solution: a bedtime ritual.
Bedtime ritual for young children
When it's time to go to bed, parents become incredibly creative. One sings a song, another makes shadow figures on the wall, and yet another builds a pillow fort to chat in. Time and time again, it's a challenge to get your child into bed on time and without a struggle. A fixed routine or ritual can help with that. A bedtime ritual is essentially a fixed routine that parents teach their children so they know it's time to go to bed. By sticking to a fixed routine, the brain knows it's time to sleep, and children naturally become tired around the time they should go to bed.
Reading aloud
One of the fixed steps in the bedtime ritual can be a reading moment. Put your little one to bed and sit or lie next to them with a storybook. Every evening, you can read a chapter or a few pages of the book together. Laugh together, crawl under the covers during an exciting part, or chat about the lessons from the story. This way, you create a moment of calm, making falling asleep much easier and better - not falling asleep yourself, of course!
Benefits of reading aloud
In addition to calming children down, reading aloud is also good for language development. By listening to your voice, children learn to recognize language sounds. And that starts at an early age, we can tell you! Even babies learn to develop speech by listening to the stories their parents tell. Moreover, older children also learn to recognize words and therefore read faster. In short, there are more than enough reasons to read aloud as a parent!
Make reading aloud a party
Close the curtains, grab your child's favorite book, and immerse yourself in adventure. You know what can really make a reading ritual complete? With a color-changing night light. Give stories color by matching the different light settings and colors of the night light with the story. Here you will find some nice night lights that will turn reading aloud into a real party.
