THE mum-of-four talks family life in her weekly column. Today Peta, who is married to Olympic cyclist Mark Cavendish, talks bedtime reading.
EVERY night after bath time, I get my three youngest children snuggled up in one bedroom, and read.
Sometimes we talk about the story, or act out the pages. Often it is the first time all day that we have slowed down, let alone fully stopped.
From the moment I get the kids up, we are on the go. I’m the worst version of myself in the morning – howling for someone to get their shoes on or brush their teeth.
There are never enough hours in the day. I always feel like I’m herding kids from one place to the next, trying to cram a million things into our tight schedule.
Those 20 minutes before bed are sometimes the only time we are calm, quiet and present.
‘FIRST TIME TO SLOW DOWN’
Sometimes I read, but often Delilah who’s seven will read her school books to the younger boys Frey, four, and 21-month-old Casper. Or she loves reading Harry Potter.
It’s not just a time to read but also a chance to talk about the day, and sometimes something that happened at school will crop up that I might not otherwise have known about.
But yesterday, research by the charity BookTrust was published revealed that one in seven young children get less than 15 minutes a week of reading time with parents.
Around 345,000 seven to nine-year-olds are in “literary poverty” and six per cent of parents never read to their children.
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While I’m not shocked, this does sadden me a little. Now, don’t get me wrong, I could do better – there are a million distractions from reading with the kids, like long working hours, household demands, cooking dinner, and bath time.
Add to that a screen in every room and in every pocket, and it is easy to see how bedtime stories can be replaced by a television show or a couple of YouTube videos.
We’ve all been there. I’m not against screen time, I just know it can’t replace a story. I loved reading as a child and want to give my children the gift of getting lost in a brilliant book.
While my eldest, Finnbar, who has just turned 14, pretty much only reads to avoid detention now, I’m pretty sure my other children enjoy books.
‘GIFT OF A BRILLIANT BOOK’
Of course, the full works of Shakespeare each night for your two-year-old is not a realistic goal. The trick is to let them like anything. Find books, magazines or comics they enjoy to read or listen to.
That’s half the battle. And if you can, remember to read some grown-up books for yourself, too – I’m embarrassed how little time I make for reading now.
Some of our favourite family stories are: There’s a Monster in Your Book, by Tom Fletcher; Funnybones or Each Peach, Pear Plum, both by Janet and Allan Ahlberg; The Gruffalo, by Julia Donaldson; and The World’s Worst Children, by David Walliams.
But be warned, parents – children ALWAYS notice if you skip pages.
IT’S that lovely time of year where parents can talk a child down from the slightest wobble with a gentle reminder that the big man himself, ol’ Saint Nick, is watching and judging them.
Quite a sinister thought if you think about it for too long, so we just skim over the details and skip back to the jolly guy all rosy and merry.
