November 11, 2026

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In a Nutshell

Hi, I’m Robin Hough, Editor-in-Chief of Healthline. I’ve read to my children each night at bedtime for as long as I (and they) can remember.

There’s a huge amount of reciprocal joy we take from this nightly ritual, beyond the practical benefits of providing a calming demarcation between the end of the day and the wind-down to sleep.

For me, it comes as either a break in my working day or a signal that it’s over, depending on how hectic things are. For the kids, it’s an all-too-rare chance to get me all to themselves, no deadlines, screens, or other distractions to pull me away. For all three of us, it’s a literal (and literary!) warm blanket — a chance to escape under the covers to familiar worlds and familiar faces. It is, in short, incredibly good for our well-being.

In my full column, find out what science says (and doesn’t say) about the health benefits of reading, as well as my list of recommended bedtime reads for you and your loved ones.

Below, check out today’s feature story, where Senior Newsletter Editor Ginger Wojcik shares how learning to enjoy reading to her baby was the motherhood milestone she wasn’t expecting.

•

News to Know: Why ‘Binge-Watching’ That TV Show Now May Affect Your Brain Later

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Tips to Live Well: 8 Ways to Reduce Your Screen Time

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Condition Spotlight: 6 Months After Aortic Valve Replacement: What to Expect

Wishing you the best,
Robin Hough
Editor-in-Chief

Written by Robin Hough
November 11, 2026 • 4 min read

How I found my [baby reading] voice and overcame my imposter syndrome

I had my first baby 8 months ago. Becoming a mom has been a procession of major milestones – feeling his first kicks, strapping him into the car seat on the way home from the hospital, his first true belly laugh. But recently, I experienced a more subtle and less expected breakthrough. I learned how to read to him.

I’ve been an editor for nearly a decade and an avid reader for my whole life. Imparting a reading habit on my child was high on my to-do list. Plus, I’d seen the research suggesting that reading to infants can boost their early language skills. So I didn’t wait to bust out the books after Sebastian was born.

But when I opened that first book and started reading the words aloud to my sleepy little newborn, I felt a surge of discomfort. My voice was tentative. My baby looked bored. I had this uneasy feeling that someone was going to burst into my living room and know immediately that I was not this person I was pretending to be.

I continued to read to Sebastian, but my imposter syndrome persisted. It was not an activity either of us looked forward to (young babies don’t exactly get out of bed in the morning to read books). That is, until we got the bug book.

When he was around 6 months old, we were gifted “Some Bugs,” a sparsely worded, whimsically illustrated book celebrating the natural world, and especially bugs. The magic of the bug book, as we now call it, is that it was written to be performed.

At first, I read the bug book in that same awkward monotone I used to read all the other books. But slowly, I started changing my voice to accentuate certain lines. And then I realized I could act out pages – using the point of my finger to pretend to sting Sebastian in the belly, gliding around the couch with my arms out, playing peek-a-boo behind the cardboard pages.

The effect was immediate. Sebastian’s whole face lit up every time I acted out a scene. Ever since, we’ve read “Some Bugs” multiple times a day, countless times a week. To my utter delight, he shows obvious excitement whenever I grab the book and plop on the ground with him.

Reading is now an activity we both love. And I’m happy to report that I no longer look over my shoulder, plagued by the feeling that someone is about to expose me as a fraud.

📣 Over to you: What’s your favorite children’s book? Let us know at wellnesswire@healthline.com so I can add it to my list!

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