Many parents are looking for ways to help keep their children’s routines in place. This added structure to daily activities helps create a sense of security and safety, which is an important feature in managing stress, even for kids. (It can help adults, too!)
That’s where a good old-fashioned bedtime story comes in.
Not an iPad app or a TV show before bed. But a real story, read in bed to a child by a parent.
Seems that bedtime routines also help kids sleep better, say researchers at Penn State in a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. They say well-established rules such as a regular bedtime and no caffeine drinks led to children getting adequate sleep for their age. In contrast, when parents and kids had electronic devices in the bedroom after bedtime, lack of sleep was more likely. What’s more, poor sleep could lead to behavioral problems, impaired learning and school performance, sports injuries, mood issues, and health problems such as obesity.