Lots of children these days don’t know what it feels like to listen to a lovely bedtime fairytale. They don’t have the luxury of being read to because their parents and guardians don’t find the time — or see the reason. Bedtime stories are important for children because they don’t only sharpen their imaginations and put them to sleep, but they also help to build children’s vocabulary, reading, and spelling proficiencies. Bedtime tales help improve a child’s memory capabilities and strengthen the bond they share with their parents — or whoever else is reading to them at night. [1]
Zaria and Hailey Delaware grew up listening to wonderful stories read to them by their mom and they developed “a deep love for reading.” They’ve grown into the perfect bookworms and are working to see that other children find joy in reading books as well. These lovely girls take to Instagram TV and Facebook Live every night to read bedtime stories so children anywhere can tune in and watch.
“My sister and I were lying in bed one night giggling about something when this idea came about,” Zaria wrote on their Facebook page. [2] “We presented the idea to my mom and she agreed it would be great. She personally doesn’t want us to be on social media but we all agreed being on it in a positive way would help light the world. We are already reading each night but we thought it may be beneficial for children who won’t get that luxury.“
The girls have been on GMA, ABC News, and Rachel Ray
Zaria and Hailey began their channel in February and they’ve been growing steadily since then. Speaking to Good Morning America, Zaria said they are always in the library on Sundays to pick out the books they’ll read for the week.
“We pick books with characters who look like us because not a lot of kids see books with characters who look like us,” Zaria said to GMA. [3] “We read at eight p.m. and split it up. We like reading because sometimes people can’t read themselves or they’re young or their parents don’t have time.”
Despite the five-year age difference, these girls are best friends and they share a very deep sister-bond.
“Every night we just talked to each other until we fell asleep,” Hailey said. “We begged our mom to let us read on Facebook to help other kids fall asleep.“
Hailey is the biggest fan of Dr. Seuss and P.D. Eastman, and she loves Green Eggs & Ham, Are You My Mother? and Go, Dog. Go!
“Reading is good for you!” the sweet little Hailey said.
Mom keeps a watchful eye on her girls on social media
Victoria Willard had initially been skeptical about her young girls going public on social media in a world where there are so many cyberbullies and online predators. However, she couldn’t hold them back from their dreams and opted to protect them instead.
“I’ve been reading to them since they were in the womb,” Willard told GMA. “My house is full of books.”
Mrs. Willard is an amazing mom who is active in her children’s upbringing. She strongly urges her ladies to be responsible online. Her rules for social media usage include:
“No responding to messages or comments before mom sees them first. Certain people you can’t follow back on social media. Abide by the household cell phone laws: No phones at the dinner table and no phones after 9 p.m. Don’t let fame get to your head. Whatever happens, you still have chores to do.”
Mrs. Willard says their storytime session helps to keep them occupied and busy, especially when they are on vacation from school. The children’s father is a navy official and he spends a lot of time away from home. Having something so important to look forward to every night will help take their minds off of missing him.
According to their mom, the sisters are about to become authors, and are currently working on a children’s series about military families.
“One is the writer and one is the illustrator… it’s about blended military families,” she said to GMA.
A big thumbs up to these very smart young ladies who are following their dreams and giving a priceless gift to children around the world.
Photo credits: Zaria X Hailey – Instagram