Children do not separate "learning time" from "love time" the way adults do. When you sit together with a book, they receive both.

A story about courage, kindness, or forgiveness gives you shared language. Later, when something hard happens at nursery or on the playground, you can return to a character they already know instead of starting from zero.

Keep it small and steady

You do not need a long session. Five minutes before lights out is enough if it happens most nights. Let the child choose the book sometimes. Ask one question. Listen to the answer.

Story time is not a performance. It is presence. That is the part they remember.