Suffolk Libraries is supporting a campaign by the charity BookTrust which aims to help children (and parents) get a good night’s sleep.
The Bath, Book, Bed campaign will offer parents of young children a new free booklet which puts stories firmly at the centre of a good night’s sleep and offers a range of useful tips for getting children to sleep at night from TV parenting expert Jo Frost.
Benefits of bedtime routines for young children include earlier bedtimes, shorter amount of time in bed before falling asleep, less night-wakings and longer sleep duration. Regular language-based bedtime routines such as singing, reading, or storytelling are also associated with children’s increased sleep duration and improved cognitive skills.
Krystal Vittles, Suffolk Libraries Development Manager and Children’s Lead, said: “We think this is a fantastic idea and we’re right behind the Bath, Book, Bed campaign. It has other benefits too. The same routine every night involving a story and shared reading won’t just help young children fall asleep – it will also feed their imagination, creativity and confidence.
“Children who are read to every night tend to have improved literacy levels when they start school and this gap only widens as they get older. Introducing children to the world of books and stories at an early age is so important and libraries have a big role to play in this.”
Parents and carers can pick up their free copy of the new booklet from all the county’s libraries from this week. The booklet can also be downloaded from the BookTrust website which features a Best Bedtime Books list and has lots more ideas, guidance and practical tips on ensuring stories are part of every child’s bedtime routine.
Visit http://www.booktrust.org.uk/bathbookbed to find out more. Parents are welcome to share their tips and ideas on social media using @BookTrust and #BathBookBed