Storytime again

PSYCHIATRISTS and doctors are again questioning the practice of children watching television or playing computer games before going to bed. While more achildren are bidding adieu to fairy tales or the simple habit of reading at bedtime for a variety of reasons, psychiatrists, child workers and educationists are emphasising the importance of bedtime stories.

In a recent survey in Britain, more than half the parents interviewed said that they did not have enough time to read or tell bedtime stories to their children every night, despite the obvious value it had on family life.

The study showed that there has been a huge decline in this activity in the space of a single generation. Less than one third of the households interviewed had time for a bedtime story.

Dr. A. Sigman, who conducted the survey, said that this decline could have negative effects on an entire generation of children, because the practice fostered emotional security, aided relaxation and was a vital means of transporting shared values from one generation to another.

He said that parents needed to relearn the importance of the bedtime story. "The last 10 minutes before a child goes to sleep is probably the most critical form of 'quality time' parents spend with their child as it occurs at a prime comforting time from the child's perspective." Dr. Sigman said that listening to a bedtime story was conducive to sleep. "Sleep is an important health issue for the child, since the immune system as well as levels of growth hormone are affected by the amount of sleep they get," he said.

Children who do not get to spend this crucial time with a caring adult are often glued to the TV or to a computer which, at the end of the day, hampers their sleep pattern since they tend to stimulate the brain rather than lull it. Scientists now look at multimedia stimulation from computers or TV as harmful for children.

Most parents when questioned, are on the defensive for being unable to tell a bedtime story to their child. This was particularly true for those with children between two to eight years - a time when dependency on an adult is strongest. The main reason given by such parents was lack of time.

Many, however, felt that they ought to have made some effort. Nishi Kaul, a mother of two and a teacher of dramatics, said: "I think the role of the mother has changed, maybe due to TV. Fathers come back late and children are usually asleep by then. But if I were to look at it more

realistically, children today are sleeping later too. I did a lot of storytelling to my children, my husband did not.

"He made a lot of excuses - time or not knowing what story to tell - but I feel that this fosters bonding. Definitely at that time of the day the children want you there. It is like a security cover."

Said Kaul, "I think today's parents are looking for excuses. It is so much more convenient to flop in front of the TV yourself and also tell the children to join you."

The bedtime story, according to psychologists, is a marker for values and beliefs in the family and in society at large. Many working mothers said that they made a special effort to spend the last hour of the child's day with them.

Sigman's study showed that mothers were far more likely than fathers to read or tell a bedtime story. Many fathers confessed to falling asleep while reading a story - something that many women denied doing.

Interestingly, women said that they were torn between spending that crucial time with their child and their spouse. This is seen as a modern dilemma since both parents work through the day and have time to catch up with each other only in the evening.

Adult social life was also a major cause for concern vis a vis bedtime. With more couples socialising or networking in the late evenings, more children are left to their own devices after dinner. This is where the television or the computer replaces traditional role of the parent. Children in urban areas are left to the care of child minders, who are not necessarily literate. For both the minder and the child, the television is a medium of rest and recreation.

Traditional bedtime stories always had a value attached to them, said Sharmista, whose child is six-years-old. As a single parent, she is very careful about the amount of time she spends with her daughter. "Whether I tell a story, or read one to her that half an hour is precious to both of us. It's only after that I go out if I have to," said she.

So before you trash grandmother's good old bedtime routine and junk all those Grimm Brothers and Alice in Wonderlands, think again.

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