Mom Asks If Her Teenage Daughter Is Too Old For Bedtime Stories & Says She Reads Her One Every Night
Some people will never outgrow the wonders of bedtime stories.
cottonbro studio / Pexels Many of us have memories as children of our parents tucking us in at night and reading us a bedtime story. However, those memories usually stopped at around age eight or nine.
As teenagers, we most likely spent the time we had before we drifted off to sleep scrolling through our phones or listening to music. Most of us had outgrown the bedtime story ritual by then.
However, one mother has revealed that her nearly teenage daughter still allows her to read her a story before bed, despite her age, and asked other parents what age they stopped the practice with their own children.
The mother’s 12-year-old daughter recently expressed to her that she is no longer interested in storytime before bed.
Sharing her story to the UK-based parenting site, Mumsnet, the woman asked other users if her daughter was getting too old for bedtime stories.
She revealed that since her daughter was young, she has always read her a bedtime story nightly. “My daughter will be 13 this year and I still read her a chapter or two of a book before bed,” she wrote.
Recently, the soon-to-be teenager has told her mother to stop reading to her before bedtime, a choice that her mother accepted.
“That's fine but I'll miss it when she no longer wants it at all,” she admitted. “I won't necessarily miss the books though - she likes some nonsense!”
She then asked other parents how old their own children were when they put a pin on the bedtime story ritual.
Some parents shared that they stopped reading to their children when they learned to read on their own.
“Mine are 12 and nine. It slowly petered out as they realized that they could read to themselves faster (and so get more story) than if I read to them,” one parent revealed.
“They are both big readers though and didn’t want a bedtime book since really quite little (as once started wanted to finish it!)”
“I think around age eight we would have kept going but they wanted to read to themselves by then. Mainly Roald Dahl, worst witch type things,” another user wrote.
“My son and I have also started just 'reading side by side' in his bed, him with his book and mine with my own instead of me reading to him,” another user commented.
Other users stopped reading to their children whenever they expressed they were no longer interested, despite their age.
“When they didn't enjoy it anymore, which was around 13 with each of mine,” one parent shared. “Until that happens - enjoy it!”
“I did bedtime stories until my daughter was 11 and decided she didn't want to be read to anymore. It was a lovely way to spend time together and I miss it,” another user commented.
Other parents claimed that their teenagers still enjoy hearing a story before bedtime.
“My son is 13 and it is still very much a part of his bedtime routine,” one user wrote.
“I am still reading most nights to my daughters, ages 14.5 and nearly 13. I know it won't go on forever, but am just enjoying it whilst it lasts,” another user shared.
“My 21-year-old was read to until he was 15,” another user added. “No issues with independent reading whatsoever, he just loved being able to close his eyes and have someone else do the character voices, etc. It was a lovely time.”
A study commissioned by Wonderbly found that the average parent reads bedtime stories to their children around the age of eight.
10% of them continued the tradition until their children hit their teen years.
Although, there is no “right age” to discontinue the bedtime story routine. For some children and parents, it is an effective way to connect and spend time together after a long day, no matter how old you all are!
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.