Bedtime Stories

When one is a first-time parent, one actually welcomes all kinds of advices and suggestions.  It actually is weird since otherwise, people do not appreciate being told how to do their stuff.  But once a baby comes along, we cannot get enough.  We ask people, share information, look up on the internet, read books, watch other parents and so on a so forth.  It seems that nothing we know is enough for us to look after our kid properly.  

Thankfully, there are plenty of websites nowadays that deal with parenting, even from the beginning of pregnancy on. The mother-to-be just has to enter details pertaining to her pregnancy, and she will get weekly and monthly newsletters which are aimed at guiding her throughout the period.  And from our experience, these newsletters are really good.  For example, during pregnancy, we were able to understand what was happening each month, what changes in food my wife had to observe, what things I should do as the supporting husband and so on.  And now, once she baby was born, these newsletters started coming only on a monthly basis, but informing us about the stages of growth in the baby's life, what new food to introduce to the baby, what games to play and so on.  Very helpful and informative.

Likewise, the newsletter 'told' us last month that we should start reading bedtime stories to the baby.  So, my friend and I went to a book store and started looking at options.  Apparently, things have changed here, too.  When I was little, we have fairytales of the Brothers Grimm or Fables and so on.  I used to love them all.  However, my friend and I were amused to find 'Bedtime Stories for Girls', 'Bedtime Stories for Boys', 'Animal Stories' and so on!  I was mildly confused whether I should introduce my girl to boys by making her read 'Bedtime stories for Boys'!  Finally, we opted for a unisex book that mentioned nothing about boys and girls, and which had nice pictures.

Now, there is not much yet to tell about the reading part.  My wife and I take Jenny to bed at more or less a regular time.  Then we take out the book and start reading.  Every page is wonderfully coloured, nicely sketched and has hardly 20 words.  But we end up spending more time on each page that I would have spent on a novel.  We point out the characters in the picture, we make sounds, we make baby point out things and yeah, we read the words, too!  I am 100% sure she doesn't understand a thing of the stories we narrate.  But she still giggles along.  I guess she is encouraging us to keep up the good work!

I myself am a very chronic reader of fiction.  I have been reading about the adventures of Robinson Crusoe, the journey to Treasure Island, the investigations of the Hardy Boys, and the like from very young days on.  And I still remember them fondly.  I hope I can instil this love for books and stories in my little girl and that these books will enrich her life and imagination the same way as they have enriched mine. :)