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Parenting

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Original poster

Bedtime Story

28 replies

HardcoreParkour · 08/02/2021 22:58

Hello,

Do you read your DC a bedtime story? At what age did you start?

DS is almost 8 months and I keep reading about a story being part of the bedtime routine at this stage. However, our bedtime routine is bath, bottle and bed. His last bottle is given in his room with only the night light on and he falls asleep pretty quickly once he's finished. I'm worried that by reading to him it will stimulate him and keep him awake.

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AnneLovesGilbert · 08/02/2021 23:05

DD is nearly two and we’ve never done books at bedtime. She reads loads throughout the day, she’s mad for her books, but we do it downstairs and don’t have toys or books upstairs.

Bedtime is teeth, moisturise, pyjamas/grobag, feed, songs, sleep. She doesn’t bath everyday and sometimes at night, sometimes in the morning.

DappledThings · 09/02/2021 08:31

From about 3 months! For a long time both of them had 2 stories with the second one being the same every day. Allegedly the familiar words are meant to become a bit of a trigger for sleep. Probably bollocks but it was nice to have a routine.

When they were really little I used to read while feeding.

user1493413286 · 09/02/2021 08:39

I didn’t start until DD was nearer 16-18 months; I tried when she was younger and she’s just grab the book. We looked at books a lot in the day and read them in the day though

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Original poster

HardcoreParkour · 09/02/2021 09:34

Thanks all. I read to him during the day but like @user1493413286 he just grabs and slaps at the book.

I'll maybe wait until he's a bit older to introduce a story at bedtime as his current routine is working well so don't want to upset the apple cart.

OP posts:

BigFatLiar · 09/02/2021 09:42

At 8 months he may be a little young to fully appreciate the book/story but I'm sure the interaction with you is more than worth the effort. I doubt if understands but the exposure to language may help long term.

I think for us reading at bedtime was something we enjoyed more than the kids. When they were at the toddler stage we did read bedtime stories, it seemed to help them settle, but that may just have been having Mum/Dad with them rather than the story.

Prufrocks · 09/02/2021 09:47

I don’t know when we started. I wonder if there was ever a time (outside of the newest of newborn nights) when we didn’t.

MonkeyPuddle · 09/02/2021 09:53

I’m not sure when we started, feels like we’ve always done it.
Our bed time routine is DP does bath, teeth, x2 stories and into bed; then I pop up and sing a song, lights out.
But I agree, if what you’re doing now is working then dont change the routine, we don’t add things into routines unless we’re willing to keep the change.

FelicityPike · 09/02/2021 09:55

We started in the NICU.
When she had her feed at 10 pm whichever of us wasn’t feeding read a book.

SingingWaffleDoggy · 09/02/2021 09:55

When she had teeth to brush and therefore putting a stop to the feed to sleep. We needed another wind down trigger that it was time for sleep.
We have a poems for children book and the rhythm of poems seems to help

Nellephant · 09/02/2021 22:08

I don't read a book as such, but I've learnt "Goodnight Moon" by heart so recite that to her every night in an attempt to form some sort of sleep association. It hasn't worked yet sadly but does get around the issue of just wanting to grab the pages/close the book which is her favourite thing usually. She's 6 months.

BertieBotts · 09/02/2021 22:10

I think about age 3 was when I started with DS1.

DS2 sometimes reads books before bed but more often than not doesn't. He is 2.5.

Lifeinaonesie · 09/02/2021 22:11

@Nellephant

Omg we did this, and she didn't sleep through until 3. I blame the bloody book

Pandemicpregnancy · 09/02/2021 22:14

My daughter is 4 months old and we also don't do stories as part of our bedtime routine. She is a really good sleeper and I don't plan to start anytime soon.

We read so many books in the day and she loves to feel the pages, look at the colours and try to turn the pages and finds it all really stimulating, which is the opposite of what I want at bedtime! I can imagine it will be a nice thing to do when she gets older though.

jelly79 · 09/02/2021 22:24

Trial and error when DS was younger and a baby. Sometimes he would listen sometimes he would eat it. He is 3.5 now and religiously has a book and a chat about the book. We had 6 months of telling stories rather than books too

AnneLovesGilbert · 09/02/2021 22:27

I’ve found singing the same handful of songs is helpful, she now asks for one or other at bedtime and visibly relaxes to my warbling. When we had to get her to sleep in the car for a long nighttime drive last year I fed her, put her in her grobag, in the car, sang a few times and she was sparko. She stirred, more singing, back down.

cataclysmiclife · 09/02/2021 22:27

I've literally just started with a bedtime story and mine are 2.5

DelurkingAJ · 09/02/2021 22:30

Both started from birth. DS1 always attentive and calm. DS2 mainly tried to grab the book and suck or chew on it until about 18 months. I was horrified. Both are now extremely grumpy if stories don’t happen for whatever reason (they’re 8 and 4 and the eldest is being read The Wee Free Men whilst the youngest is still into Julia Donaldson et al).

Nellephant · 09/02/2021 22:44

😭😭😭😭😭

Nellephant · 09/02/2021 22:45

Sorry - that was supposed to show as a reply to @Lifeinaonesie

storytyke · 16/02/2021 18:13

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Caspianberg · 16/02/2021 18:16

We don’t read at bedtime yet with 9 month old. We read in the day, but he still hasn’t much patience yet and just flips pages fast.

By bedtime he’s tired. We change him, he has milk and goes straight to sleep. Maybe change in a few months

FizzingWhizzbee123 · 16/02/2021 21:42

We started somewhere between 4-6 months with DS1. Just very short books, usually a “that’s not my” or a Spot flap book, something he could interact with. Definitely remember him going through a phase of really enjoying turning the pages. DS2 is 3.5 months and we haven’t started yet but he’s beginning to fall into a nap pattern so will probably start adding nightly books and bath to the bedtime routine when he gets a more consistent bedtime (at the moment, bedtime is mostly a very looooooooong breastfeed with a sunset light).

DaddyBearReadsatBedtime · 12/10/2021 21:16

We have read to our son everynight since he was about 8 months old.

He loves to listen to my voice reading to him so much my wife suggested I create a YouTube Channel with stories recorded so that we can play them to him as he drops off with his nighttime milk.

We have found that it doesn't over stimulate him as I read in a calm and soft voice, also it's helped with our bond and he is forever giving me books to read to him.

Hardbackwriter · 12/10/2021 21:20

We read to both of ours before bed since birth, but if you've got a routine that works for you I wouldn't change it. I really like reading to them before bed but if it doesn't work for you there's nothing inherently better about reading to them at bedtime than at any other time of the day.

takealettermsjones · 12/10/2021 21:23

We probably started around 10-11 months? But we always did songs, and it's the same idea I suppose. Certain songs will send her off to sleep relatively quick.

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