Cantonese before Bed
I once came across an article that said our brains are the most receptive to new information an hour before a long stretch of sleep of 3+ hours (for the life of me, I can't find that article to reference it!). As bedtime stories have been our evening routine for more than two years already and my toddler loves her bedtime stories, I thought I would start reading Cantonese bedtime stories instead to further increase my kids' exposure to Cantonese, their minority language.
She picked up Cantonese so much quicker from her bedtime stories!
After reading the same story only twice, she started reciting some phrases in Cantonese. I was not sure if she just remembered the sound without understanding what they meant. Then one day she just blurped out a few of those phrases to her little brother...and they were in correct context!
So as you have guessed it already, Cantonese bedtime stories are to stay in my household. Here are a few tips I want to share with you.
1. Start early.
I started looking at board books with my two children since they were only 5 or 6 months old. When they were smaller, I chose board books that have big and colorful pictures. They used to hit the book and flip the pages too quickly. But they adore looking at books. So do start early and you never know how much their little brains take in!
2. Let them choose.
My toddler loves her freedom and independence. She likes to choose her dress in the morning so it only makes sense that she chooses her bedtime story book. But I usually narrow down the choices to 3-5 books that I'd enjoy reading. This should be fun for both you and your kid. And don't forget to let your baby choose too but you may want to keep the choices to 2-3 books only.
3. Have a regular read.
So many parents complain about reading the same story over and over again. But I believe that reading the same bedtime stories helps kids to become familiar with words and enhance their memory. My toddler loves to mouth the words of a relatively new bedtime story. After reading the same story a couple more times, she starts to say the words or phrases aloud from memory.
4. Choose picture books.
If your kids do not fully understand Cantonese, you may want to choose picture books for bedtime. Books that have colorful illustration of everyday objects are always a winner here! Take your time to explore the picture books with your kids - identify new objects, introduce new words, discuss about the characters/storyline...and so much more!
So which bedtime story books do you and your little one like?
