Cultural teaching with a bedtime routine
There is no doubt that reading to a child is considered very beneficial – It helps with cognitive development (ability to think and understand), improves the child’s language skills, and increases their concentration. Studies have shown that a consistent bedtime routine cultivates into a lifelong reading habit for the child.
It is common for parents to read a bedtime story to their children before tucking them in. However, a bedtime story should be more than just picking a book. It should also be about bonding with your child after a long day. And if during that bonding time, a little bit “cultural teaching” can happen, then why not?
This is where cultural books and toys come in.
Parents are the most important teachers for their children and children learn the most from their parents. After a long day of work, a bedtime routine, such as reading, becomes precious because it is also the only bonding time you can have with your child. Parents can use this time to read cultural books as well.
This helps the child to learn directly from their mentor aka their parent, and the parent gets a chance to bond with the child in a different manner - by talking about their roots and their culture.
Our two books Lord Ganesha and His Kheer, and The Kind and Mighty Lord Hanuman, have been designed to make “cultural teaching” fun for the child as well as easy on the parent.
The books are written in the form of rhymes and are designed with beautiful artwork and vibrant colors. The stories are original, and each book explains about the Deity with a simple narration. Each story ends with a poem highlighting the importance of that Deity into our lives. It is the perfect way for a parent to end the cultural reading session on a positive note.
Whether you read, pray, or simply talk during a bedtime routine, it all comes down to how valuable those 5 mins every night become. It is these moments that serve as one of the earliest and happiest memories for a child. And if you add some cultural teaching to it, then chances are – that they will remember it for life.