Bedtime story-reading on the decline - do you read to your DC at night?

[KateMumsnet]

A new poll for the reading charity Booktrust has found that younger parents (aged 16-24) enjoy reading to their children at bedtime far less than previous generations did. Only 28% of younger parents say it's their favourite part of the day, compared to 42% of older parents (aged 55+) - and younger dads in particular lacked confidence in reading aloud to their children.

What do you think - is the bedtime story a vital element of your bedtime routine - the best bit of the day? Or a nice extra, but not an essential part of parenting?

We'd love to hear what you think - and if you're looking for a bit of inspiration, find out which bedtime books are most beloved by Mumsnetters, over here.

Over 40 and still read to both.

I think they absorb more from a book, rather than me trying to explain something. It's a great starting point to talk about any number of issues and topics.

We vary fiction and non-fiction. I've learnt quite a lot from some of Ds1's history and science books.

I read to my DC everyday but not always at bedtime.

DD is almost 5 and loves books and reading. Both DH and I read to her at night and during the day.
DS is 2 and has had a book read to him at night as a bedtime routine since he was 6 months old and went into his own room. Now that they share a room they often share stories, although DS can get a bit bored sometimes if its a very long story.

DH and I are 27 and 28.

MIL, OTOH, has never read to any of her 5 kids. She doesn't see the point.

I'm 32. We sometimes read during the day; but we always read at bedtime (3-4 Gruffalo length books). They have a hundred questions per volume so it takes up a fair bit of time. Tbh I want to say "Shut up! Lie down! Just go to bloody sleep! I hate HERB AND THE BASTARDING STORY BOOK WOLVES!" - but I never ever would . They love it so much that I do it whether I want to or not.

There are some books I enjoy more than others. I especially enjoy reading poetry (children's stuff, I'm not forcing the Iliad on them), but they don't enjoy it very much, which surprises me.

Dc1 has a very demanding personality, reading to her was the only time I got to sit down when she was a baby, before I had dc2 it wasn't unusual for me to spend 3-4 hours a day reading aloud. I think it improved my speech.

DD still has a chapter most nights and she's (nearly) 12.

If I'm not around, her teenage brother will sometimes read to her instead. Neither of them seem to find this remotely odd, though I'm wondering how much longer it will last.

That's beautiful Lance.

Either my husband or I read to our 20 month old every night as part of his bedtime routine. He loves it and we love it - we also read to at other times in the day if he asks as he loves books. It is great for winding him down before sleep but I wonder if cbeebies bedtime hour is used for wind down for many instead?

I am a younger mum - I was 20 when I got pregnant. My son is 8 now and I still read to him every night. He's not a great reader and not yet reading for fun so I think it's important to show him how great books are and how much enjoyment we can get out of them.

My dd is our youngest now at 10 and i read to her as often as I can because she enjoys it.
It's nice to spend the time together, its close, warm and relaxing.
She used to be a reluctant reader but loves reading herself now too, and quite often reads for up to an hour or two a day herself.
I don't believe you should leave them to it just because they can read for themselves, especially if they enjoy you reading to them.
Her room is full of books and they needn't always be new books from expensive shops. Car boot sales, libraries, charity shops, jumble sales, ebay etc are all cheap places to find books. There's no excuse in my book

My two girls are 15 and I still read to them every night! Then when I've finished they read to each other. it's a lovely way to relax at the end of the day

I had my children at 32 and 34 and always try to read to them at night after they've had their bath (they are three and one). Unfortunately my son (3) often doesn't seem very interested and wanders off halfway through the book, but he does have some stories that he really likes. The Tiger Who Came for Tea is one. He is very different to me as I always loved reading. DH tends to do videos on his phone rather than stories.

We have bedtime stories every night - dd1 is 4 and has had stories since she was a tiny baby. Dd2 is 6 months and I try and read to her at bedtime though right now she is starving after her bath and can't wait for her feed log enough to have a story!
For us it's a chance to wind down at the end of the day and nice quiet 1:1 time. It's also a chance to catch up - it's more than just reading from a book.

Oh I am 32 and dh is 35. No sure if that's old or not! I feel like an old women!

DH or I have always read a bedtime story to the DC - although now they are older (youngest is 8) they prefer to read to themselves, not just at bedtime but just about all the time (a family of avid readers!).

So now I tend to just snuggle up with them for half an hour or so before lights out for a chat, about anything really, which is a really nice way to end the day. I will be very when they decide they're too old for that.

Had my DC in my late 20's/early 30's btw....

DD gets 2 stories each night. Well, that's the plan anyway. DH and I take turns and he is a sucker for her pleas of 'another one' and can end up doing about 6

We are gimmers though (40+)

I do it every day more or less. Sometimes I enjoy it and sometimes it's a chore tbh. I enjoy it at the weekends when we have time but in the week when I'm tired, rushing back from work and trying to get the bedtime routine done and stuff sorted for the next day to get DD to bed in time it's just another thing to fit in in a short space of time. I don't show this to her - do all the voices, let her choose the book however long etc. I'm 35.

Hell, yes! And plenty of times during the day! We get books from our local charity shop for £ 0.50 or less. We ended up loosing the only library book we ever borrowed so prefer to buy cheap and cheerful second hand texts. As pp said dh and I mostly enjoy reading to the dc but not always. Sometimes it can be bloody boring hard work.

Oh, and we are both in our late thirties.

Since DS1 was about 18m its been an important part of the bedtime routine, and I think weve only missed it a handful of times, when hes been too poorly. We all (me, Dh DS1&2) pile on to our bed and read a story then chat about the day etc.

We are old and MC though.

Yep, DD loves being read to and will shout "dory dory dory" (ie story) after her bedtime milk. It's how I bribe her to let me brush her teeth: "no DD, brush teeth then story, ok?"

She gets two stories at bedtime and quite a few during the day - more if she's ill or we're stuck indoors. I'm a big fan of Julia Donaldson, they are much more fun to read than many and her illustrator puts lots of things to "spot" on each page.

We are old (well, mid thirties) and MC too though.

I have to admit I am looking forward to her being able to read...

Stories during the day are great. Much less time pressure for me then and I enjoy them.

Yes mine are 10 and 7 and I've always read to them. I enjoy ds1's stories more than ds2 who insists on Beastquest or Spider-Man. I'm 36 btw

I am 29 years old and I read to my 2.5yo DD every night. In fact bedtime stories are usually a two parent job with Daddy reading the first story, and Mummy reading another one or two. My DH and I both love to read to DD at night. It probably is my favourite time of the day although sometimes it can get a bit fraught if DD is overtired. On a good day thought it's lovely and it's started to become a time for some conversation as well... after reading 'The Paper Dolls' the other day I got "What in my memry, Mummy? What in your memry? Where IS your memry Mummy?' complete with very intense looking inside my ear to see if she could see it.

We love reading though, visiting the library almost every week and we read at other times of the day. I feel that reading to kids is vital but it doesn't necessarily need to be at bedtime.