The process of getting kids to sleep can be a challenge, But one method that has been tried and tested that never fails is the bedtime story.
There are a myriad of bedtime stories that are free for children which you can download via your smartphone or tablet. There are stories for bedtime that are brief and others are long enough for children who require an extended journey into dreams.
Here are our top sleepytime audiobooks, apps and downloadable bedtime tales to help your child fall asleep to. We have listened to hundreds of them and these are the top short and long bedtime tales we came across. Each one will aid in calming the mind and help get settled.
Top Free Bedtime Stories for Peaceful Sleep
1. Be Calm on Ahway Island
Be at Peace in Ahway Island balances mindfulness meditations with engaging stories for children.
Every episode starts with an enlightening meditation with a positive message and a captivating, but relaxing story. This podcast series is great for nap time, bedtime or any other time when your kids require some downtime.
2. The Stories Podcast
From retellings of classic fairy stories to new stories of courage and triumph The entertaining podcast is a joy to listen to for every child.
Each story on The Stories Podcast runs for 25 minutes, which is the ideal bedtime story for youngsters to fall asleep in the world of dreams.
3. Bedtime Explorers
This Bedtime Explorers podcast is the most impressive thing to emerge from Australia in the time since the Hemsworth brothers. This is also one of our top finds when researching this story.
The show features the soothing voices of a mindful trainer and original music from an artist called “Gentleforce”, each episode incorporates cute and playful methods of meditation that are simple for kids to comprehend. Your children will leave feeling relaxed and ready to get an enjoyable night’s rest.
4. Honeybee Kids
The suggested age range is 2 to tweens, based on the narrative
A school teacher and a mother of two created this show, and there’s no surprise that our child testers were hooked after the first time they heard it.
Honeybee Kids’ host Honeybee Kids uses her soothing storytelling skills to tell bedtime stories, and guide children through simple meditations with stories that they have already enjoyed, such as “The Lion King,” “Toy Story,” Pokemon along “Frozen.”
5. Calm Kids
For kids, written by children Calm Kids is a collection of stories that are immediately accessible and enjoyable to children.
An older sister (age 11 to be exact) wrote down soothing stories to calm her younger sister when she went to bed. The stories were wonderful and so the sisters made recordings of them to assist other kids who were struggling to sleep.
6. Sleep Tight Stories
Sleep Tight Stories employs tranquil ambient sounds such as crickets that chirp, rustling leaves and gentle breezes through the trees as the backdrop for all of their narratives that our child testers were able to find more relaxing.
These stories offer a wonderful combination of relaxing and exciting. Each story is a retelling of folk tales and fairy tales, stories, or a unique story written in collaboration with guest writers.
7. Circle Round
Circle Round is an award-winning children’s podcast featuring the top performers from the screen and stage to retell short stories and fairy tales with fresh twists.
Most shows focus on the value of teaching things like respect and kindness to one another. These are all wonderful messages to let children dream about before they go to sleep.
8. Stories from the Lilypad
Tales of the Lilypad is packed with vibrant and powerful reinterpretations of classic tales and fairy tales. Each one is read through Lily the Frog who is sitting in her home on the lily pad that is situated by the swamp.
This charming and intelligent podcast lets you revisit the classics of childhood that you grew up with. reinvented and retold with fresh unique, often hilarious twists.
9. Peace Out
Peace Out is a great book for anyone who is struggling with finding a little peace. We discovered Peace Out to be a great beginning to calm the mind and develop self-regulation.
These soothing bedtime stories help encourage mindfulness by using breath exercises that are guided. There’s no secret way to help kids unwind, but the kid-centric mindfulness exercises in Peace Out definitely come close.
10. Bedtime History
The soothing voice of Breck who hosts Bedtime History makes these short bedtime stories engaging and calming at the same time.
Every Bedtime History tale focuses on an inspiring and educational story that is culled from history.
The shows provide bite-sized lessons on inspiring figures such as Nikola Tesla, Sacagawea, George Lucas, and Rosa Parks. Other subjects include exploration of space and The Grand Canyon, and great engineering feats like that of the Transcontinental Railroad.
11. Little Stories for Tiny People
Tiny Stories for Tiny People starts the children giggling and then leaves the children slumbering. Each story is original and is approximately 15 minutes or more and is told with a fun style of storytelling and humour that children love.
Each episode is a fun style with quirky characters and is filled with original kid’s stories and poems that are sure to delight the little people you know.
