How to Start a Brush, Book, and Bed Routine with Your Child

School readiness can have a positive and lasting impact on a child. It can help improve a child’s ability to succeed in a school setting and continue a lifelong journey of learning. It can also help with their social skills and emotional growth. Children are ready to learn when they feel supported to explore, share, and grow.

Reading with your child can help improve their literacy skills, which include language, speech, vocabulary, and listening. Spending time together while reading aloud also helps create a strong parent-child bond.

Helping your child develop good dental care habits at a young age is also an essential part of school readiness. Children with good dental health miss fewer days of school due to dental problems. Pain from dental disease, such as cavities from poor dental care, can affect a child’s ability to eat, speak clearly, and concentrate.

Adequate sleep is essentail for a child’s health and well-being. Research shows sleep impacts mood, learning, and memory (sleepfoundation.org).

Encourage a Brush, Book, Bed Nighttime Routine with Your Child

A brush, book, bed routine can increase your child’s reading skills, support good dental care habits, and help them get the rest they need, all of which can benefit them beyond their school years.

“Brush, Book, Bed: How to Structure Your Child’s Nighttime Routine” is a program from the American Academy of Pediatrics. It combines three important activities into a fun and easy nighttime routine:

Brush. Each night, help your children brush their teeth.
Book. Read a favorite book after brushing.
Bed. Get to bed at a regular time each night.

How To Get Started

Brush. Each night, help your children brush their teeth. All young children need help from an adult with brushing their teeth to help prevent tooth decay. Remember, once teeth touch, they also need to be flossed. For children under three, use a small amount of toothpaste, about the size of a grain of rice. For children ages 3 to 6, use a pea-size amount.

Book. After you have helped your children brush their teeth, it is time to read! Find a comfortable spot to read with your child. Spending time together reading each night will help improve your child’s reading and language skills.

Bed. After brushing and reading together, it is time to go to bed. Get to bed at a regular time each night. Sleep is very important for your child’s health and well-being. In fact, good sleep habits start from birth.

Tips to Boost Your Child’s Brush, Book, Bed Routine

When possible, teach your child to spit out extra toothpaste, but do not rinse with water right away. A small amount of toothpaste left behind on their teeth helps prevent cavities.
Do your best to start your routine every night at the same time, around 30 minutes before bedtime, so you have enough time to brush teeth, read together, and go to sleep.
Visit your local library, school library, or bookstore and allow your child to explore different kinds of books.
Set regular bedtimes and stick to them. Putting your child to bed even 15 to 20 minutes earlier can make a big difference and ensure everyone has a good night’s rest.
Check with your child’s doctor during a wellness checkup or with their dentist during a regular checkup for more resources.