reading to dd

[eml2512]

we've not yet got into the habbit of reading to dd. We tried before nap and bed times when she was 3  or 4 months but she cried. We figured she's spirited and we'd wait. I'd like to introduce it as an acctivity, but now she isn't interested in the storey but working out how to open, close and throw the book. Is there a good way to get her used to being read to?

[anna*]

At this age, eating, opening, throwing and bashing books is totally appropriate and still counts as exposure to books I used to read to my little guy while he was eating his meals in his highchair too. It will be quite a while before she is interested in the 'story', but a book with lovely bright colours and and flaps to lift (which you can show her how to do) might help focus her attention on what is actually on the page.

[deb]

If you can find the books that have little textured patches inside them, many kids will stroke them and handle them. I know DK makes a lot of them, some with kittens and puppies that have patches of fur for the animals and leather for their noses and so on.

[Love, laughter, & PJs]

Yup, we read to Austin as he runs around the living room.  Occasionally he comes and sits in our laps, turns 6 pages at once, takes the book and runs away!  Haha.  Then we pick up another one and go for that one.  At this age, it's hard to get them to focus.  But that's ok.  It's about hearing the words and, when they do come over, seeing the pictures and making associations.  With time they'll settle into it a bit more!  (I do like Anna's idea about reading at mealtimes, though.  I might actually get through a whole book for once!! )

[lilisuze]

i second the tocuhy feely books, especially "thats not my ....." we have monster, truck, dinosaur, pirate etc....they do grils ones too. Written by Fiona Watt if you want to amazon them.

[Mashi]

My DS loves books and has since he was quite young - but at 2yr3mo I am not sure he is really into "stories." Books yes, stories not so much.  At 12 months we got him Goodnight Moon and The Hungry Caterpillar and we looked at pictures, touched objects, stuck fingers in the caterpillar holes, named foods, etc, but didn't "read the story."  I think after reading The Hungry Caterpillar for 15 months he still doesn't know what the actual story is about but can say all of the foods in it and count the pieces of fruit.  With Goodnight Moon, for the longest time DS really only liked to look through the pictures until he got to the point where the "old lady" is not sitting in the chair so he could say "Oh!" and express his disgust that the mommy was gone ( ) and to point at the moon and then out our window at the moon.  That was all that "reading" was. 

We have some books that are real life pictures (ie/ one that is just called DOG and is pictures of loads of dogs which I got him at 15 months and he LOVED from the first moment he saw it), pop-up and lift the flap books, some more Eric Carle books, etc and he loves all of his books....but there is no focus on the story itself.  We mostly get loads of library books and because our library doesn't do any in English we really rely on making up stories ourself (which are different every time) or really just talking about what we see on the pages, etc.  but never "reading" them, really and DS does not know the difference.