Bed time for the young child.  It may be a happy moment of sharing or a life and death struggle.  Indeed, bedtime for children between one and six may be a little like death for they live in the present moment and have little sense of tomorrow. This is one reason why the end of a day is a good time to offer assurance of God’s love and care.

Going to bed is a favorite theme of children’s literature, further proof of its significance in the life of a child.  Sharing a book, a conversation that recalls the day, a Bible verse, a prayer, and a kiss can make this nightly event a faith and love affirming time for both child and adult.

Here are some Bible verses to say or paraphrase:  Psalm 121:3b-4; Psalm 3:5; Psalm 4:9; Psalm 145:9.

You can also talk about about:  Something good that happened today; a new thing you (I) tried; a hard thing you (I) did; friends we’ve enjoyed.  Include these in a simple prayer of thanks.

Shared by regular contributor Virginia Thomas.

And today, Janet Lloyd, librarian and regular contributor, shares her NIGHTTIME READS FOR LITTLE EARS that highlights good bedtime books for reading with younger children. Click on the bibliography title above to download it.

Peaceful dreams.

Bedtime Books by Storypath is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.