Of all the things I thought I would do as a parent, reading to my kids was for sure top of the list. But can I confess something? I definitely thought I would be a “bedtime stories” type of mom and so far… I’m kind of not?
At this very moment, my kids are newly-6, 3, and 1.5. And for basically all of my parenting career until now, the only book I wanted to be reading after 7 pm was MINE! With a baby, then toddler and baby, then preschooler, toddler and baby… by the time bedtime rolled around I just needed everyone to be in bed as fast as possible. You know, for my sanity.
But because reading with the girls was still very important to me, I came up with a little strategy (and then made it a hashtag, as one does): #3before3! Every day, I do my best to read 3 picture books with the kids before 3 pm. This only takes 10-15 minutes and it’s such a welcome little break for all of us!
Here are the pros:
- We get to connect in a meaningful (but easy and chill) way during the day
- It’s doable because we’re all home anyway (hello, entire year of COVID pandemic) and I can pick a time when my kids are excited to sit down and read with me—not always the case when they’re tired
- When bedtime comes around I can get those children IN BED just a little quicker, hallelujah amen!
I can’t recommend this highly enough! We’re now halfway through March, AKA National Reading Month, and I want to challenge you to try reading #3before3 for the rest of the month and see how it works for your family!
P.S. Now that the kids are getting a little older, we do sometimes read together before bedtime and I’m finally like OH, I can see why people like this! (Some of our favorite Spanish bedtime stories here, in case you’d like to see.) But it’s still nice to know that we did our reading early in the day, and that way if I’m fried at bedtime or the kids are up late for whatever reason, I don’t feel bad about skipping the bedtime story. #3before3, it just might change your life!