Do you still read a bed time story to your older child?

Maybe when my children are that age i will get them to read one night and i'll read the next. Gets them ready for when they haveto read out loud in class at secondary school

We stopped when they were twelve/ twelve and a half. It was all good up till then though.

We do on and off, to 11 and 10 yos. We didn't ever read to them every night, it varied depending on energy levels and other things, and I always rather encouraged them to read to themselves instead, but we still do read books all together sometimes. Especially on holiday when we've got a bit more time, it's good in a tent.

I tend to choose books a bit above their normal level or a bit different from their normal taste, or new books I don't know myself. DP also reads to them and he chooses classics he hasn't read, things like Sherlock Holmes.

yup still read to ds 9 ,we share the reading, am making the most of it before he refuses to let me snuggle

Idon't know - you fill me with relief as we still read from time to time to DS, also pretty dyslexic and a teen. tends to be biography but fiction from time to time. Includes the hilarious The Bromley Boys and Jack Dee's autobiography (lol at the rake story); gripping - eg the London Eye Mystery, Gladiator, or sporting - Monty Panesar's autobiography. Sometimes DS will read by himself, sometimes he wants one of us to do so.

I read to ds2 (12) and dd (9) most nights - we often read classics or things which might need a bit more explaining like Sherlock Holmes - but we've been reading Muddle Earth and its sequel Muddle Earth Too by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell which are rollicking good fun - and great to read out loud too - thoroughly recommended

ds1 stopped wanting a bedtime story years ago, but he's determined to be much more independent ...

stealthsquiggle we call our reading time DMC, for deep and meaningful conversations. I tend to find I am more chilled out and its darkish and we are relaxed, makes it very easy to say whats on his mind. Then when i leave I can panic, stress, flap ponder thoughtfully on what he has told me.

I read to my children 10, 8 & 3, generally weekdays bar Friday..Guides & BB but the weekends they don't want this but to stay up late! I tend to find a couple of books I've read either myself when young (loved Swallows & Amazons, dustwhatdust) or in school with my class, often children's classics that link to the terms themes. I'm currently reading Alan Garner's, The Weirdstone of Brisingamen at home & school. I usually read & share a picture book with youngest.....not sure who enjoys these most, me or her! What should happen is she goes sleep & I settle the others and read but she sneaks in and listens and I haven't the heart to send her to bed...though this will need to change by full time education. It will be a holiday treat then. I intend to read to them for as long as they want me to. However, already my eldest tells me never let others know I read bedtime stories to her. I fear peer negative pressure sneaking in. Stories lead to conversations and imaginative discussions linked to such and long may it continue.

DD is 7 and i read to her every night after she has read a bit to me. We have read the Little House on the prairie books and loved them, must get Farmer boy from my mums too. I seem to be the only year 3 mum who still reads to their DC as have asked the other mums. I love it, it's our 'me time' which is precious imho.

mum2jakie, you could always go off at a tangent & try adult books about football What about How Steeple Sinderby Wanderers won the FA Cup? Or Fever Pitch??

Usually try something they won't choose themelves from the school library. I read to my 10 year old DD, but not every night as she's deep into Muchamore, and sometimes 13 year old DD joins us. Recent successes include When Marnie was There (Joan G Robinson) and Alan Garner's Elidor.

So glad to find I am not unusual - I still read to DS (9) as well as to DD (5). The most dire punishment for evening misbehaviour is "no story" and if I am out at bedtime (DH doesn't "do" stories) then I get "we missed you - we didn't get stories" (nice to know that is the only reason they miss me ).

As others have said, reading to DS is our private time for just us and he tells me worries, etc more than he would at any other time. He tries not to read ahead and we choose books together - currently "airman" but more usually dragon-related.

I've got three boys and still read to them all at bedtime, even the oldest who is nine. He's a competent reader but rarely chooses to read himself for pleasure (especially not fiction) so I hope this will encourage him to continue to enjoy books as he gets older.

The only problem I have is that some of the books he likes reading now are really dull for me to read! I've just finished The Kick Off which he loved but I found incredibly tedious as it was all about football. I am struggling to find decent books out there for boys of his age.

At what age would you recommend starting the Terry Prachett books?

My DDs (4.5, 7.5) both get read to every night and have since they were born. DD2 is just getting to the stage where we can read chapter books (we just finished Olga da Polga). DD1 rattles through books on her own but still loves to listen to stories. I got so sick of not knowing what was happening that we've agreed that she doesn't read ahead in "our" book. It took us ages to get through Farmer Boy with a chapter a night and in the meantime she read the whole of the rest of the series, but she was happy with that and could ask questions about exactly what they were doing, about meanings of words, etc. I will be very sad when they no longer want bedtime stories.

I should read more to DD1, I love reading with her but I am ashamed to say it doesn't always happen. Might try and get a copy of Swallows and Amazons, I think she'll love that!

Hmmm probably should have name changed for this but ....... DS is 16 and I still read to him. From tiny he has always loved stories but he found it very difficult to read for himself. It took till he was 13 to get a diagnosis (problems with dyslexia, and convergence issues). Anyway its like Bunbaker says, it our me time. Currently we are reading Dubai the fastest growing city (he loves politics, economics etc). I am aware its probably procrastination on his part but we both enjoy it although I am 100% sure not a single person outside this thread knows about this ;-)

He I still loves Just William and Swallows and Amazons.

I haven't got Farmer Boy, but it is at my parents'. I hadn't really thought of it for ds but I think you're right, he will find it more interesting. I've started with Big Woods because I think it's the easiest and he is only 4yo. I may ask dm if she can bring it next time we see them though. Thanks:

DeWe, if you haven't read it your DS might also like Farmer Boy (about Laura's husband Almanzo when he is aged 9-10). I never had that one as a child for some reason, but it is absolutely fascinating. There is loads of really detailed and specific information about farming & how they did things back then.

I also read some research somewhere which says that reading out loud is a useful way of keeping the brain active and warding off dementia, as it uses a lot more mental processes than reading in silence. I'm not sure that doing the voices would count as one of these processes, but I'm willing to give anything a go and reading Terry Pratchett out loud beats the pants off those brain training games in terms of pure fun.

I stopped reading to dd1 when she was about 6-7 when she started preferring to read to herself.

I still read intermittantly to dd2, (age 8)the form it's taken since she was 4-5 has been I choose a book I think she'll like but she's not sure. I'll read 1-2 chapters, then if she likes it she'll usually read the rest of it by the next night and is asking if there's a sequel (to read to herself). Her reading age is pretty advanced, so sometimes I slow her down and insist I read it with her if I think there's bits that need explaining. She doesn't really like that though, so would rather read it and ask me later. It worked well with "Goodnight Mr. Tom" last year as she found it a bit upsetting so wanted comfort, didn't work with "When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit" because she'd read it before I'd thought about it and was asking for the sequel (which are much darker so they're now hidden)

Ds is 4yo and his general choice of bedtime reading is a good factual book. Preferably on aeroplanes, although he's very fond of a book on Weather which explains different weather in scientific detail and a couple of books setting out WWII part by part. However I've started reading Little House on the Big Woods. So I'll see how he gets on with it, he's a little confused about it being a "true" story but interested in the butchering of the animals. Interestingly that was the bit the girls didn't like!

Mine are almost 9 and almost 11 and they are read to every night without fail, unless work takes me away overnight, which is rare. We have read all the Hiccup books, some Diana Wynne Jones, the Worst Witch books, horrible Tiara Club and Rainbow Fairies (those are a looooong way in the past, fortunately!) and the entire Tiffany Aching series. We're now on some of the adult Discworld novels - have read Mort, are about to finish Reaper Man and next up is Wyrd Sisters - the DDs love it and they are both way above average readers, but I do the voices and I think that help keep their interest. They also like the fact that TP uses slightly fruity language sometimes - the word 'bugger' still has shock value to them...

I read intermittantly to middle DS who is 7 but the older 2 (9 and 12) are not interested and prefer to read themselves in bed. With middle DS we take turns now with me reading a page and him with a challenging book

DD is 12. I do still read to her when she's having a bath sometimes.

This is nice to read, Ds is only 2.8 and dc2 due in may so sounds like I have many years of snuggled up reading left (though hopefully we'll have moved on from the tiger that came to tea etc )

when I was a child I refused stories from
the age of about 7 - I was a v avid reader and couldn't bear the slow pace of being read to