Bonding Over Bedtime Stories

Stories take us to a world of imagination. Every story with its unique characters, timeline, backdrop and values leave a lasting impact on us. A Child's face lights up at the mention of a story. We all have grown up listening to them from our mothers, grandparents and other family members. Here is a beautiful story of Aryan and Radha:   

Six year old Aryan loved story time, he would go to bed at sharp nine eager to hear new stories from his mother Radha every night. Radha had always been concerned about putting her child to bed early, so that he woke up at 6 am the next morning, without being cranky.

A good story and adequate hours of sleep can boost a child’s energy levels the next day. 

Communicating with a child is an important aspect of parenting. Children come home from school, watch television, eat and go out to play with their friends, homework takes up most of their time and there is hardly any time for parent-child interaction. 

Bedtime stories were a period of bonding for Radha and Aryan. There was so much she wanted to tell her child and so much she wanted to know from him. Aryan being hyperactive hardly spoke to his mother during the day. At bedtime Radha weaved magical stories to inculcate good values and morals in her child. If Aryan related to the story he would speak about his personal experiences with friends in the neighborhood and school, ask questions and gave his opinion in certain matters. This way Radha got to know about what her child feels when he steps out of home, his interaction with friends and his level of comfort with other members of the family. At times she would share her childhood memories to give him a feel of the way of life back then.

 A child needs to adapt to the environment, outside his comfort zone and most importantly learn to mingle with friends and teachers with whom he spends most of his day, without fear and inhibitions. Caring for friends, importance of sharing, learning to respect elders, peers and younger siblings, speaking the truth and taking responsibility for ones actions without blaming others, Radha taught him all. A good story imparts the right values.

A child’s mind is like a sponge, absorbing everything that happens in their surroundings. Although we may feel that children do not understand our words, our behavior conveys everything to them. There are children who do not speak their heart, it is very important to help them express themselves. Radha and Aryan developed a strong bonding over bedtime stories, from parent-child they moved on to become best friends, laughing over funny incidents and sharing secrets. Aryan graduated to become a good story teller; narrating stories that he heard from his teachers in school.

Bonding over bedtime stories was Radha’s way of strengthening her relationship with her child. What is your method of bonding with your child? Please do share! I would like to hear from you :)