- Start your routine early enough to enjoy it. If you or your toddler is over-tired, reading together quickly becomes a chore, and not the nice calming activity bedtime routines need.
- Turn off any distractions – TV, cell phones, electronic toys, etc.
Avoid turning your bedtime routine into a teaching lesson. It’s okay to engage your child and ask questions, but bedtime is not the best time to test your child’s reading skills. They’re tired and so are you!- Agree on a limit to the number of books you’ll read ahead of time. Or your toddler may beg for “just one more” – the last thing either of you need at night is an argument.
- Let your daughter pick the story.
- Get the whole family involved. Mom, dad, big brother, or grandma are great bedtime story readers too. Routines help others put your child to bed when you aren’t available.
- Pick a calming place to read the story. Especially if you have siblings with different bedtimes, a noisy living room won’t be as calming for your son as reading right next to him tucked into bed.
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Alaska's Early Childhood Investment
Best Beginnings Alaska
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Testimonial
Early childhood education is extremely important to our family here in Alaska. Because preschool through kindergarten are not required, it falls on us to try to teach and prepare our children the best we can. With ECP we can get the help we need to do so.
