Dr. Lisa Belisle Prescribes Books for Sleeping Issues

A Post from Dr. Lisa Belisle:

This week is National Sleep Awareness Week , which has much relevance to our Raising Readers audience. Bedtime can be a stressful time for families. Some kids sleep well from the beginning of their lives. Others...well, they simply don’t.

Keeping a routine is one very important way of helping kids get ready for sleep. For more tips go to my website. Reading can--and should--be a part of this routine.

Reading has been an enjoyable part of our family’s evening routine for many years. We began with basic picture books when our (now fifteen-year-old) son and (now thirteen-year-old) daughter were very small. Our youngest child is now eight, and spends time reading to us. Don’t get me wrong: she still listens to us read. In fact our books have increased in length. Just last month Sophie and I finished the My Side of the Mountain Trilogy by Jean Craighead George.


Sophie and I still inject a regular dose of picture books into our bedtime routine. One of our favorites is this month’s “Raising Readers Recommends” book: Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anne Dewdney. In this wonderfully illustrated book, a young llama attempts to go to sleep without his mother’s help. Upstairs, alone, he calls for her repeatedly while she tries to get the chores done downstairs. Making sure he is in no danger, she responds:

Baby Llama,
what a tizzy!
Sometime’s Mama’s
very busy.

Please stop all this
llama drama
and be patient
for your mama.

Not only do I love the bold colors and rhymes of the book, I am also intrigued by the subject matter. You see, I have my own “red-pajamed llama.” My eight-year-old has a very specific bedtime routine, and gets annoyed when this is interrupted. (If this sounds familiar, you might want to check out some of the bedtime resources at www.kidshealth.org).


Another great bedtime read is Sleepy Places by Judy Hindley. This interactive book will be distributed to Maine 2-year-olds at their well child visits through the Raising Readers program in 2009. As an added bonus, this book has bedtime activities such as “Talk About It” printed in the back. For other sleepy-time picks, download our Raising Readers Recommends: Great Books, Great Topics.

Whether you chose sleepy places or llamas to lull your child to sleep, you’re sure to be a hit. After all, nothing beats a good read before bed. Just ask Sophie.