The bedtime story is just as important as brushing teeth

Routines around the world include brushing teeth and getting pajamas on before heading off to bed. And while some include a bedtime story, other households do not. But just as important as getting each tooth nice and clean is the process of learning, reading, and snuggling with a parent to a bedtime book.

For months, we’ve been really trying to work with our 3-year-old to get her to not only brush but maybe enjoy the process and understand the importance of it a bit more. Whether it’s been caving into her demands for blue toothpaste or a puppy dog toothbrush, there have been ways to make the experience more enjoyable.

While enjoying it isn’t really a reality for toddler or preschoolers, creating a great routine that it fits into is.

So grab that Orajel™ PAW Patrol™ toothbrush and toothpaste, pick up your favorite book or ebook, and cuddle before bed. It’s what we did on February 24 for World Read Aloud Day and many other nights as we prep to end each day.

This time was special.

We opened up the ebook “Three Bees” as a way to start a 3 Bs routine. One that is great to make sure that every night she brushes, reads, and goes to bed in an orderly fashion.

Brushing their teeth isn’t the only important part of the bedtime routine

Reading each night creates a better parent-child bond

Something reading isn’t about the book. It’s about the time spent together. Take the Read2Me Tonight Challenge. Share a book with your child. Enjoy the closeness and moments to slow down is such a fast-paced world.

In fact, you can find a list of the best 100 read aloud books. It’s a great place to start. And if you read one every night and change it out each week, that’s basically 2 years of books!

Books help reinforce what, as parents, we’re already trying to teach

One of my favorite parts about reading my kids books is that I can gather a whole pile of books on a certain subject, like brushing teeth, and everything I have been trying to teach my child comes alive in the books. It’s not directly me teaching anymore and somehow that seems to have added value to kids. Learning it from other sources seems to validate the concept.

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Adding a different bedtime story each week is almost 1,000 books before college

It is said that a child, on average, learns to read after 1,500 books. If you do the math that’s about 4 years old.

Ok, ok. I get that it doesn’t quite work like that.

But I do know three-year-olds that can read and most of them have parents that are reading books to the constantly. And what a blessing that is to have a whole library of book memories once they head to college.

Book smarts and a great smile will help them go far

Feeling confident both in abilities and in attitude is the first step in helping children excel academically. And you can tell your kids that too. That both reading and brushing teeth are just stepping stone to later success in life because everyone loves a child that smiles and books help make us smarter!

This post was sponsored by Orajel™. The opinions and text are all mine.