The Sleepy Pebble and Other Stories: Calming Tales to Read at Bedtime
WILL THIS BOOK HELP When developing this book over a few years we drew upon scientific literature We also contacted other sleep experts psychologists mindfulness experts parents and children themselves about our ideas and have shared early draft sections of this book widely receiving plenty of feedback We also conducted a small pilot study where we invited 100 families who had at least one child aged between 3 and 11 years of age to take part We asked the families to read a story an earlier draft of The Sleepy Pebble for three consecutive nights At the end of those nights we asked the families to answer a questionnaire providing feedback about many aspects of the story such as its length and whether they thought it should be illustrated Seventy adults participating in the study responded We asked many questions but for one key question Overall what effect do you think the story had on your child children’s sleep parents responded that for 80 of the 104 77 children taking part the story had a very positive or slightly positive effect They also flagged areas that could be improved such as adding illustrations and information for adults reading the story The book has been adapted based on the feedback Positive feedback does not mean that this book will work for all children Every child is unique and what is helpful for one child may not be helpful for another We would recommend adding this to your bedtime routine if you and your children find it useful and encourage you only to use sections of the book that you consider to be appropriate for your children For children with physical or mental health difficulties a healthcare provider should be consulted before using any techniques included in this book Parents also reported that for 21 104 20 the book seemed to have no effect for 3 104 3 the book seemed to have a slightly negative extremely negative effect did not comment Our study had limitations e g there was no control group and we used subjective retrospective reports Recruitment was also conducted via social media meaning that the authors were known to some of the participants Nonetheless the overall results were promising 10
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK You might want to consider the tips at the end of this book to help you create an appropriate environment before you start reading one of our stories We recommend that you choose one each night and read it to your child as the last story before bedtime When it is time to start reading the story ask your child to lie down and be quiet and to shut their eyes if they are happy to do so Try to make your voice calm and soothing and read the stories slowly and quietly Novelty can be arousing so when you present a story to your child for the first time it may not have the desired effect Your child might be excited by the new book and want to interact with it Please do not worry about this When you first read the book encourage your child to look at it and answer any questions that they have explain to them that this is a different type of book to those that you usually read and that over time you would like them to be quiet and peaceful when listening to their sleepy book Hopefully after the novelty has worn off the stories will help your child relax before falling asleep You may find it useful to read the Questions and Answers listed on page 79 for further advice when using this book Once the story is finished keep the lights dim and the bedroom calm and quiet Now is the time to say goodnight and leave the room so that you can let your child go to sleep We wish you a peaceful night Professor Alice Gregory Christy Kirkpatrick 11
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A Story About Bedtime Routine THE SLEEPY PEBBLE Pebble wakes as he does every morning safe and snug in his sea bed He opens one eye then he opens the other He yawns and stretches and stretches and yawns He sleepily rubs his eyes and enjoys feeling warm and cosy He thinks about the day ahead Let’s think about little Pebble 13 13
