Parents failing to read to children, survey reveals

Goodness is no wonder so many kids don't sleep well, there's nothing like a good bedtime story to get a toddler to sleep.  I've read to my son for as long as I can remember and he's had a bedtime story since he moved into a bed at 20 months.

He loves the story Brown Bear so much he actually knows it by memory!!!

I agree! My dad read to me when I was a child and now it's my hubby's chance to spend quality time with our little one. There's nothing like a good bedtime story to get those eyelids drooping!

Seems such a shame that parents are too busy to do it now

my son has just had his second birthday. We stopped counting his words when he hit 300 a few months back, and we now have conversations with complex sentences. In other words, he's way ahead of average on his speech and language. We have ALWAYS read a bedtime story, since the first week of his life, and usually one or 2 other sessions in the day as well.

My husband is a primary school teacher in KS1 and he says it's so obvious which kids have parents who talk and read with them, which ones have books at home, and which ones don't.

My little Harry loves books....and again has had a bedtime story as part of his bedtime routine since around 7 months but we looked at books from a really young age he loved the bright colours and animals now it is the story he likes more.

You can get books from the library free and no late fee charge on kiddies books.

I dont have an awful lot of time now as I work part time but we read at least 2 books every day. maybe more

My little boy loves stories and wouldn't let a day pass by without at least two bedtime stories each night. He is very strict about which parents turn it is to read to him (making sure that this pleasure is shared out equally!!) - we love this very special time snuggled together at the end of the day.

He is two and I agree with the other comments above, his language and conversation skills have really seemed to advance since he moved on from baby books and onto proper stories like Dogger and The Tiger Who Came to Tea.

We have also found bed time stories really useful in explaining the world and life events to him. I bought a Topsy and Tim book a couple of months before I had his little sister and used it to explain my pregnancy and that we would soon be having a new baby in the house which would be his baby sister. He was fascinated with the book for a few weeks and you could see his little mind fitting everything together, then quite suddenly he didn't  want to read it anymore - and when we bought our new baby home he took it all in his stride,  understanding straight away who his sister was where she had come from and why she was breastfeeding, which I am sure the book helped with.

Now he sits next to his 2 month old sister showing her books and reciting the stories to her which is great as it has been one of the first ways they have been able to interact and so lovely to watch! 

Stories are great and should have a place in every child's life - they are so much more than just reading!