Your Child’s Personal Bedtime Story
By Heather Young
As a bedtime story for your child, recollect the activities of his/her day in a story format.
Begin the story with descriptions of your child, the main character. “Once upon a time there was a little girl who loved to collect rocks and climb trees. She lived with her mama, her daddy, and her baby sister in a little blue house with a big oak tree in the front yard….etc.”
Continue with a retelling of the story of your child’s day, including as many details big and small about what happened that day as you can recall. Amplify the goodness that the day held. Your child will have fun adding what she remembers and correcting you when your re-telling does not match her recollection.
End the story with what is happening now, e.g., the child is safe and warm and is getting tucked into bed with snuggles and hugs by her mama/daddy who loves her more than anything in the whole wide world.
Children love to be the main character of a story. It makes them feel seen and heard. In fact, no matter our age, ordering the events of the day by recalling them at bedtime and feeling the fact that we are here, at the end of our day, safe and warm in bed, with all that we need in this moment, is a soothing way to end the day.
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Wild Roots staff authors include Erin Boehme, Lia Grippo, CJ Cintas, Anne McCarthy, Tyler Starbard, Jenn Sepulveda, Heather Young, Amalia Smith Hale, Natalia Pareja...