Why Reading That Same, Favourite Book at Bedtime is Doing Your Preschooler Good

Does your little one have a favourite book? Not just one that they like, but a book that they ask you to read to them over and over again at bedtime? You might give a little amused chuckle or feel exasperated because surely they will be sick of it soon.

It turns out that re-reading books, and reading at bedtime, have clear benefits for preschoolers. In fact, repetitive reading is one of the ways that children can get the most out of their books.

A UK study of three-year-olds found that:

‘Napping or sleeping after reading boosts toddlers’ word learning and consolidation. And, reading the same storybook repeatedly helps preschool children learn more words.’

At the heart of this phenomenon is that children find comfort in familiarity. Younger kids have shorter attention spans than older kids – but they also forget things much quicker too. Novelty, including changing the nightly bedtime story, can be jarring for our little ones. But its not just a safe pick for them, kids actually enjoy re-reading books:

‘After all of the stories were read, we asked all the children “how much did you enjoy reading all three stories today?” Over 80% of the children who heard the same story repeatedly answered they liked the shared reading time “a lot,” compared to only 33% of the children who had spent the same amount of time reading, but heard different stories.

This has important educational implications because reading for pleasure is related to vocabulary level in later childhood.’

Another benefit of bedtime reading? The article also refers to studies which show that reading at bedtime can reduce the length of the bedtime routine! So parents can put their feet up and get to reading their own books sooner…

Read the full Williams and Horst article in ‘Frontiers in Psychology’ here.