The Importance of Bedtime Stories
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A different kind of daily picture book would be bedtime stories. They are best enjoyed while cuddling together. Bedtime stories have been a tradition in my family for at least four generations. They have brought our family closer together in many ways.

What is a bedtime story?
A bedtime story is a story read in the evening, just before heading to bed. It is one of the very last things we do to bring our day to a close. It is a privileged moment between my children and I, when, most nights, the whole family gathers together and enjoys one final tale. It is a unifying element of our life, where we all come together to do what we enjoy most. A bedtime story can be any picture book or chapter book. But most of all it is a moment. We have read pretty much anything at bedtime from The Cat in The Hat and The Gruffalo to Anne of Green Gables and The Hobbit.
Bedtime story routine, then.
When my children were very young we had, what I would call now, a beautiful routine. Honestly I used to dread it, it was chaos, lol! With 4 little ones 4.5 years apart, it could get hectic quickly. But we would give everyone a bath, get in jammies and then we would all pile up on the couch, as close to each other as can be, and read just one more picture book. Then a short prayer of thanksgiving for our day and husher everyone to bed.
The bedtime story helps all of us settle down for the evening, screens are off and gone, everyone gets a cuddle and we get to enjoy some of our favorite picture books. Each child got to pick in turn what to read (which meant no fight over whose turn it is) and we would just dive in.

Bedtime story routine, now.
Today with such a wide age span, we usually have a couple of bedtime stories going. For the littlest, it is still very similar to the old routine with a picture book. But for the older ones, the picture book has morphed into a chapter book (current read: The Heartwood Hotel: Home Again, Book 4). But here is the interesting thing: no matter who is home, they all end up piled on the couch for BOTH stories! Even once Littlest One is in bed, she always shouts: “Read louder, Mom! I can’t hear” (Her room is next to the living room, lol).
Stories bring families together, there is no two ways about it…
Why read bedtime stories?
I grew up being read to, every evening, before bed. I treasured these times, then and even more now. It brings memories of comfort, safety, love and undivided attention from my mother. After a full day in school and homework, it was a release, I could rest, no one was expecting anything from me at the moment. It was peace-filled. It helped me relax before going to bed and, as my 10 year old told me last night, it gave me something to think about while I fell asleep. My 18 yo boy just confirmed that he would put himself into the story and replay what we had just read in his head while falling asleep. It is also time together, Mom does NOT have to be the only one reading bedtime stories. My older kids will not listen to The Hobbit or The Chronicles of Narnia read by anyone but their Dad, it is one of their most cherished memories.

Another reason
Because bedtime stories are just a time to enjoy family togetherness, it is also a great time to read great books. If they are available, the children will choose them. After reading Tending the Heart of Virtue: How Classic Stories Awaken a Child’s Moral Imagination, by Vigen Guroian, I was even more convinced of the importance of having a feast available at home. A literature feast of great books that I would not mind reading over and over again. That is when I started really creating our home library. Any book that had been checked out more than once from the library made the cut. I started keeping an eye out for them at the thrift store and online.
Bedtime stories are the BEST time to read something good and beautiful. As at least two of my children have mentioned, after they go to bed they think about the story! Unlike books we read during our school time, where we might not have the time to pause and think about it, or where we discuss it all together, a bedtime story ends up being thought over just before falling asleep!
The impact of bedtime stories
If the stories are thought through over and over again, then the mind makes it its own and the principles in the story are absorbed and become the child’s own principles. Therefore we want to choose even more carefully what we read at bedtime. And in order to do that, we have to curate what comes into our home from the library and elsewhere. Bedtime stories become a great responsibility and a beautiful way to awaken our children’s minds to what is true, good and beautiful and what is not.

Character education
“Mere instruction in morality is not sufficient to nurture the virtues. It might even backfire, especially when the presentation is heavily exhortative and the pupil’s will is coerced. Instead, a compelling vision of the goodness of goodness itself needs to be presented in a way that is attractive and stirs the imagination. A good moral education addresses both the cognitive and affective dimensions of human nature. Stories are an irreplaceable medium for this kind of moral education – that is, the education of character.” Tending the Heart of Virtue: How Classic Stories Awaken a Child’s Moral Imagination, by Vigen Guroian p.20 – Emphasis is mine.
Wow! This is so powerful! It does not mean that bedtime stories should be moralizing tales, that would bore to tears both myself and the kids, it means they have to be carefully chosen. In order to still allow the children the freedom to choose their bedtime stories, carefully chosen stories have to be available and be the standard in the home.
Where to find a good source of bedtime stories?
We, the parents, have to educate ourselves on what makes a great story suited to be read to our children over and over again. Personal taste will definitely play a role in that, as well as our own character. Outside of this there are many great books about books, lol.

Here are a few that have helped me through the years:
– Tending the Heart of Virtue: How Classic Stories Awaken a Child’s Moral Imagination, by Vigen Guroian
– The Mysteries of Life in Children Literature: Books That Inspire a Love of Life, Mitchell Kalpakgian
– A Picture Perfect Childhood: Enhancing Your Child’s Imagination and Education in 15 Minutes a Day, Cay Gibson
– Books That build Character: A Guide to Teaching Your Child Moral Values Through Stories, William Kilpatrick, Gregory and Suzanne M. Wolfe
– Books Children Love: A Guide to the Best Children’s Literature, Elizabeth Wilson
– A Landscape with Dragons: The Battle for Your Child’s Mind, by Michael D. O’Brien
As well as a few other resources:
– www.TheReadAloudRevival.com
– www.ScholeSisters.com
– www.PamBarnhill.com
So what now?
I would like to encourage you to review or start your bedtime story routine and to embrace it to the fullest! It is so simple, so easy, just load up on good books! Please drop your favorite bedtime story in the comments! It can be a picture book or a chapter book.
Love,
Mattie