If you’re a parent then every night might seem like a nightmare with all of the never-ending tasks.

Whether you have the terrible twos or the fearsome fours, each day is a repeated loop: prepare last-minute lunches, herd the kids to daycare, and rush to work in the morning only to struggle with cryptic homework assignments and improv dinner plans in the evening. 

Nine o’clock rolls around and it’s bedtime. Oh, you could already taste the sweet release of death…I mean freedom, yes, freedom. 

Your child is nicely tucked into bed and you’re ready to turn off the lamp. You’re basically at the finish line, what could possibly go wrong? 

You then hear the dreaded seven words: “can you read me a bedtime story?” Your heart drops. Darn, you were so close. 

If your bloodshot eyes and black circles weren’t already screaming “I need a nap!” you grit your teeth and calmly say “it’s already late kiddo let’s try again tomorrow.” You collapse onto your bed and repeat the cycle all over again.

There’s no denying that parenthood is possibly one of the most difficult jobs out there but you do it because you want what is best for your child.

But what if the simple omission of bedtime stories undos all of your hard work? I know, I know you don’t have to tell me how exhausted you are every day so before you shoot the messenger just humor me for a second.

You might be thinking “they’re mostly picture books anyway and my kids are better off learning at school so what’s all the fuss about?”

Well, reading actually pays dividends over the lifetime and has the highest return on investment compared to other academic pursuits.

Books teach readers about the world around them by expanding current understanding of other cultures and difficult subjects, such as death and sickness.

Early reading is especially important for pre-school children because it strengthens literacy and vocabulary prior to school enrollment which translates to academic preparedness and success.

Furthermore, reading ability by the 3rd grade is the best predictor of high school graduation so it is essential that children begin reading at an early age.

Reading also has a positive impact on mental health. According to the National Literacy Trust, readers scored higher on the mental wellness index compared to non-readers.

Additionally, having books in the household predicts future employment and increases educational attainment by an average of 3.2 years regardless of parental education or occupation, socioeconomic status, and country GDP.

A home library also “make[s] a difference beyond literacy” as children who are exposed to at least 80 books generally have higher comprehension, mathematical ability, and digital communication skills. This is great news for parents since it’s a three-birds-and-one-stone situation.

Importantly, literacy serves as a protective factor against delinquency, absenteeism, and criminality in later life. 

Reading aloud, for instance, teaches children the social conventions of communication thus making them more effective speakers and equips them with the words to express difficult thoughts and feelings making it easier to regulate aggressive behavior.

A Stanford study found poor reading ability in the 1st grade predicted aggressive behavior by the 5th grade likely due to the growing frustration as a result of an inability to read or express themselves.

However, despite the overwhelming support for early childhood reading, a national survey found 40% of middle-class and 66% of low-income families do not read to their children and this is truly alarming.

A common misconception parents have is that children are too young to understand the words spoken to them but according to Carolyn Cates, a professor at NYU, “though children may not be talking yet, that doesn’t mean they’re not learning.”

Even more concerning is a landmark study by the Ohio State University which found kids who were not read to miss out on an estimated 1.4 million words (varies by frequency and number of books read) by the age of 5 and this is likely an underestimation!

It is important to point out that not all books are created equal as physically printed books were found to result in richer learning environments than digital and interactive adaptations because it successfully moderated parent-child interactions while the latter had competing sounds and animations.

So when that wave of sleepiness rolls in, fight through it. Just 10 minutes a day will make the difference for your child.