Does Anybody Read Bedtime Stories To The Kids Anymore?

Dolly Parton does it on Facebook Live. And so does a Grandma in Iowa. They read bedtime stories to anyone who will follow and watch. But do you do it at home anymore? Not only has family time dwindled at the dinner table--with kids nowadays taking their plates to their rooms and spending the evening either on line, with the tv or video games, or on Facetime with their friends--but it's also dwindled at bed time. What once was an American staple has, for the most part, completely gone away.

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We talked about this on the show this morning, and although statistics nationally have shown that it's becoming almost a complete thing of the past--there are still some people doing it. Granted, it's not all thru a children's book--whether hard cover or paperback. Sometimes it's even off of a Kindle. I think it's so important that kids learn at a very early age to use their imaginations, listening to the words you read them and then picturing in their minds the scene you set.

Not every parent or adult is going to be a crafty reader, adding excitement to the story with inflection and sound effects and hand gestures... But if you get out of your comfort zone and give it a try-you'll have their complete attention and have them hanging on your every word. One of the things I did in another town where I was hosting a morning show was go and read a story once a month to school kids. We had a rotation of the personalities from the stations in our building where we all took a turn. I'm not sure with COVID protocols how well that would go over right now-but here's hoping that we can get back to showcasing how important reading is to our young people in the Permian Basin very soon. We're just a few weeks away from school going back in from summer!