Do bedtime stories still work?

Mine are 7 and nearly 12 and we still read them a few chapters every night! DH reads to one and me the other, then the next night we swap. It does mean we only get half the story but the DC like filling the other parent in on what happened the night before.

After we've finished reading they both read a couple of chapters of their own books before going to sleep. I don't know if it helps them wind down really but it's just what we've always done and we're all happy with it for the time being. Reading is a big thing in our house (both DC hyperlexic).

Yabu. Of course they do.

My dd adored being read to by her dad up until about 13.5. It was their “ special time”.
why not join your local library and take them? Get them to choose. Make it a regular outing. Well done for having a go.

Yes they do but I also believe that it helps to try and replace video with audio channels where children storytelling are streamed e.g. on Spotify

I’m amazed you’ve never read bedtime stories to your children! Have you read to them at all or just not at bedtime?

It’s really very good for children in numerous ways to have this. It’s also absolutely lovely for parents. The thing I miss most about my DCs childhoods is the bedtime snuggles and stories with them smelling all lovely after their bath. DH and I would sometimes take turns or sometimes all four of us snuggled up in one bed. I miss it SO much.

Look on The Reader Teacher website for age appropriate books lists.

Both my kids love being read to, even though eldest is almost 9 and both can read well themselves. We've always read to them, since they were tiny babies.

They don’t put them to sleep as such but they do love them. Mine are 8 and 3. 3yo likes Julia Donaldson books and finds it hilarious if you change the name of a character in the book to their name. 8yo will read to them self or to me as well as being read to. Perhaps take them to choose a book each that they are interested in.

My DD, 28 suggested that I read to her on Christmas Eve. I’m very happy to do that, we watched a film instead but I will bring it up again. My mother read me into books when I was fully able to read. I loved it.

I'd 100% go for Harry Potter at those ages. Modern enough for kids who aren't used to reading not to struggle with it, and got a whole generation of kids reading, especially boys.

Are yours boys or girls?

Well, DH has never read to DD - he hates reading aloud and struggled at school so if both parents were like that and books weren't so important then I can absolutely see this happening. I am sure his sister never read to her kids. I loved it though and still miss it but DD always has her head in a book so it's definitely paid off.

My 10yo DS still loves a bedtime story.

6yo twins have never liked bedtime stories. They don’t wind down at bedtime and can’t stay still long enough.

Around 10-11, we started using audio books to help with novels such as the Harry Potter series. The bedtime reading fizzled at the start of secondary school, largely because we reached the point of mine/ DCs' bedtimes converging.

I read for pleasure and take a book to a couple of the DCs' activities as an anchor point and am then more likely to read for the week.

My 12yo was given a picture book on Christmas Eve. It's our tradition, and I managed to find one to make him laugh as it was a bit of an in-joke.
He likes Cressida Cowell of How to Train a Dragon and she has a good range of easy fantasy stories.

My two are both dyslexic so find reading hard work, but they like stories and that close, quiet bonding time of reading/ listening to a book together. They also have the benefits of vocabulary, general knowledge and imagination that tends to accompany being readers even though they don't pick up books for pleasure very often.

Of course it's not too late. 🙂 When I was that age my favourite author was Diana Wynne Jones, I used to read them before bed every night. I still love her books now. Howls moving castle is a good one to start with.

I expressed disbelief at the wide-eyed faux naïveté of ‘oh, I was meant to read to them?’ I’m comfortable occupying whatever ‘ground’ that places me on.

Thank you for your input and best of luck with your attempts at thread policing. If you stick with it, you might even get a badge.

Bedtime stories are definitely a thing in real life for lots of families, mine included. It’s a nice way to wind down and have cuddles. My middle child is a teenager and has SEN and I still read to him (he can read himself) each night and it’s a non combative way of getting him to talk about his day because he has me all to himself and I’m focused only on him. I also get to read stuff to him that I loved as a kid (Johnny and the dead for example).

Yep. I don’t really know what bedtime would look like without a story to calm everyone down!

My 4yo loves everything from simple ‘baby’ board books still, which he had when he was younger (quick, predictable, good pictures), to longer picture books (like Julia Donaldsovor traditional tales like Goldilocks)

My 8yo loves pictures books about animals and then the 13 Storey Treehouse series, as well as non-fiction things about football, history or Guiness World Records. He reads to himself too but we still never miss at least 10 minutes of us reading to him before bed.

If reading to both of them at the same time, they love anything a bit rude or silly. The Father Christmas needs a Wee and Father Christmas Comes up Trumps have been favourites the last few weeks!

We’ve always used the local library. If they don’t like a book, you’ve not wasted any money and if they find one they absolutely love you can buy a copy! Win, win!

My parents never did bedtime stories - I still grew up a reader - IL never did either and DH reads as well.

We did them till DD2 was 5- DS 7 and DD1 9-10 - older they got harder it got TBH - I was tried they were increasingly not interested/not wanting to sleep/wanting to row about what was read or generally pick fights. It wasn't always the bonding comfortable experience I've always seen it portayed as.

Then we moved house which was exhausting so switched to audio books - they had own rooms and cd players. Steven Fry,Tony Robinson and various others started reading them at bedtime - a huge range of classics and modern books- which worked a lot better for all of us.

Do not read Mummy I Love You to your 12 year old.

You’d be better with Harry Potter, Series of Unfortunate Events, Famous Five or Percy Jackson.

Do your kids not read to themselves at bedtime at those ages?

We all love a bedtime story in our house. My teenagers still enjoy reading their old favourite to my toddlers still

At their age I’d look to see if their any tie in books to their favourite shows, film or games and definitely take them to get library cards and let them pick books themselves from the library.

Also, back when our local library had a cafe my friend had success getting her reluctant reader interested by taking him for a cake every time they went to the library to pick out books 😂

Ignore the shitty comments op it's great you are looking to start.

The first step is to model reading as a leisure activity yourself to normalise this vs scrolling when you have a spare 10 minutes. As they are a bit older maybe you could get them on board with a family shift - say you'd like to start reading and would they be willing to get involved too? Depending on their age/maturity you might need to acknowledge the oldest is getting a bit past bedtime stories but could they just humour you and go along with it to get youngest on board - you could all find a book you like together and share reading for example? And it doesn't just have to be bedtime - sunday mornings in our bed was another time we'd pick it up if it was a particularly engaging book and we all wanted to keep going.

My kids used to love the voices I did for all the characters and still remember them - I watching TV with one of my now adult children just the other day and a scottish woman was talking and DS pipes up "hey mum she sounds just like the your witch in Room on the Broom. Really melted my heart.

I'd suggest Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe before you tackle something like meatier like Harry Potter. They are a bit shorter and a lovely mix of fantasy vs reality, some fantastic characters and if you enjoy the first one you can go straight onto the next plus there are films which are great to watch AFTER you've read the book (books are nearly always better)

We read to our kids at bedtime, I think it’s good to read to them every day and I can already see a love for reading developing in DD1 (who’s 3). I’m not sure it really helps my DC get to sleep but it’s a good part of the routine that helps them know it’s time to settle down.

Well, consider my flabber thoroughly gasted. Still, never too late to start I suppose. Do the children read at school or by themselves for leisure? What do they enjoy reading?

My son has just turned 8 and we still read to him every night.

He likes:

The Tom Gates books by Liz Pichon
The Witches - Roald Dahl
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Toto the Ninja Cat - Dermot O'Leary
The Mr Gum books - Andy Stanton
The Sherlock Bones books - Tim Collins
The Agent Weasel Books - Nick East

I want to get him on to the Chronicals of Narnia as they were a favourite of mine.

We get most of our books from charity shops for 50p - £1, as I'm a tight arse. Local library is also good as you can order in what you want online.