Have any other former bookworms struggled to read since having children?

I find reading a lot easier since I got a Kindle paperwhite, as I can read it in low light whilst feeding DD to sleep.

I am still managing to read quite a bit, but do find it harder to read at the rate that I did pre-children. I don't get as much time to read and I often tired. I have read mostly fairly easy novels and some non-fiction.

no I always found some time to read every day even when my children were small, never felt guilty about reading, it's just something that I do daily as a matter of course.

I have the attention span of a gnat these days, which I put down to too much screen time, ease of access to the internet (helloooo mumsnet!) and being too tired/distracted since having children. Chillimum was right about reading being a skill we have lost, that's exactly how I feel about it, but I do miss it. I'm reading the Earthsea Quartet by Ursula Le Guin just now but it's hanging by a thread - it's a good week since I've read any of it and I'm starting to lose interest! I've wanted to read it for ages though so I'm determined to finish it.

I can't be doing with the kindle, bssh. In any case, I need both hands for feeding so Netflix is very much my friend at the minute!

This thread has been helpful, though - I read another chapter yesterday :)

My DS is 18mo now and I've noticed I've started to get back I to the swing of it again recently.
Joining the library was a god send for me -that way I can pick up trashy, easy to read novels without feeling like I'm throwing money away. They provide light relief in between my more fulfilling reads.

evilgiraffe the Kindle app on your smartphone can be read with one hand :)

True, bssh, I want my kids to see me reading, think the setting an example thing is important. The oldest is only three but it's going to be difficult restricting his screen time if he sees it as the way adults relax, rather than picking up a book.

I struggled with attention span and concentration when DD was a baby/toddler and this was made worse because her birth coincided with me getting my first iPad. But things got better as she got older - particularly once she started being able to play happily by herself. It means that, at 6yo, she can play and I can read at the same time. Seeing me read also encourages her to pick up a chapter book so I no longer feel guilty about reading in her presence. She still goes to bed at 7.30pm and I don't watch much TV so I read a lot in the evenings and as she's older and less demanding I am much less tired.

How did I get back into the habit of reading? I started out reading only mummy- and chick-lit. But what has transformed my reading habit is joining the 50 books a year challenge here on Mumsnet. I don't care whether I read 50 books or not but certainly being part of that thread has encouraged me to read a lot more.

Don't worry about being too tired or guilty to read. Your DC are very small. It will get better as they get older and less demanding of your time. Hang in there and just enjoy these baby/toddler years :)

I think it's that having children has coincided with easier internet access on tablets etc and it's done in my attention span. I think maybe chilimum is right in that I need to retrain myself to concentrate to the level required to get into a book.

This is exactly the issue. I still read, but less than I used to, and I have to be quite strict with myself - I'm scared of my brain turning to rot otherwise! But I think that even people who don't have children find it hard to concentrate on books these days. We've been trained out of it by the internet and the good TV that's now available.

I'm reading a history book at the moment (Winter King by Thomas Penn) - it's very good and interesting but I definitely have to keep picking it up, otherwise I'll lose momentum forever.

Audiobooks are brilliant, though, a great way of sneaking in a good read. I clean the kitchen late at night while listening to them.

No, I struggle to pay enough attention to my children rather than reading.

I don't really do much housework.

'It's as if I feel I don't 'deserve' to take that much time for myself!'

You do, you always have and always will, regardless of the demands of the children, partners or any other random individual.
It's important that you try and manage the guilt and feeling that you ought to be available 24/7 to meet the needs of others. Seriously, it matters.

Me too - DD is eight weeks old and I've read one chapter since she's been born. I am going to try to read more, but I haven't got the hang of one-handed breastfeeding yet so it's difficult unless she's asleep! Hopefully it'll be easier to find the time as she gets older :)

Oh, oh, oh, me too! I find it very difficult to lose myself now. It's as if I feel I don't 'deserve' to take that much time for myself!

Agree too with the mental well being comments, my DH always worries about me when I don't have a book on the go as he feels it's a symptom of me being a bit down generally, he says it's always a relief to see me reading.

Thanks for this thread. I'm setting myself a target of 4 books before Christmas, as we're nearly at the start of Sept, one of them being the one I got last year!

I've struggled since having children, got it back a bit after dc1, managed on every month or so, then lost it again when pregnant with dc2. My DH bought me a beautiful hardback for Christmas, intended for my last weeks waiting for dc2 to arrive but she came early and I still haven't got round to it.

You've inspired me a bit though susannah, I have the ipad with me when I bf for naps and bedtime and even though I have a kindle app on it I get distracted by the internet. By the evening I'm too tired to concentrate on the tv even.

I think it's that having children has coincided with easier internet access on tablets etc and it's done in my attention span. I think maybe chilimum is right in that I need to retrain myself to concentrate to the level required to get into a book.

The last ones I read of a more serious variety were Stoner by John Williams and The Sense of an ending by Julian Barnes. They both had the advantage of being very short so I got the little thrill of successfully finishing them!

Same here too!
I had ds1 in 2005. I literally couldn't read for a year. Then I set myself a target. 12 books a year, one of which must be challenging. I did it and was back to my former book worm self.
Then ds2 came along in 2012 and I haven't really read since. Despite having a pile of books I want to read. I joined a book group...it didn't work. Tried trash. Didn't work. I have some of my favourite authors lined up, some Allende, Atwood, a Julian Barnes and the Mantel books.
I'm desperate to read! But in fairness, nor do I watch any TV since ds2 came along (unless you count cbeebies!) or have much time to myself.

I think it's all to do with tiredness, concentration and carving out that selfish time. (Although, I'm not sure it is actually selfish, it just feels it).

It depends doesn't it?
On whether the book is any good in the first place. When u r a mum you have so much more stuff to do than b4 dc. So now if a book does not grab my attention I don't persevere as much as I would have done. I get out a book from the local library when I take my dd who is 4. Prob about once every 3 weeks. I also download free books to my kindle. What a revolution that is. But I can't stop visiting our library cus it is under threat to close and I would hate that my dd didn't have access to such a wonderful resource.

It also depends on whether u feel that you don't deserve a bit of me time. I know I felt like that earlier on. Now I don't like pp said .. it's for my mental wellbeing.

I am just back into it. DD1 is 8. My mental health has suffered a bit I think from not reading as reading is my "switch off" if you like. My meditation - no other way can I forget the jobs, the things to do and get absorbed in something.

I'm in the same position as Mrsfrumble but I don't think it was having the DCs, as mine are all quite old - it seems to be as I've aged. I can't be arsed with persisting with a book that I'm not engaged with anymore, and I read more slowly, and my concentration is shot.

Nope. I even managed to keep reading when I had four children under five. It's a matter of priorities. They all know my current novel comes first.

Erm Im kind of embarrassed to admit his but yes I do read just as much. I've read 30 books so far this year, I had babies in 2011 and 2013. I'm back to work next week though so I'll probably slow down a bit!

My kindle links to my
Facebook and so everyone always asks how I manage to fit it in, but somehow I do. I read for at least 20 mins each evening while I'm bf ds2 to sleep. I also read at naptime, bf time, I don't watch tv and I'm lucky enough to be able to read in the car (as a passenger obv!) without getting sick. My house probably isn't as clean and tidy as it should be either .

But I need to read. Books are honestly like oxygen to me, I get irritable if I don't have one on the go. I really wouldn't know who I was if I didn't read, and I feel like enough of myself has already got 'lost' in motherhood iyswim.

I can spell, I just can't hit the right keys and so I need to proof-read more carefully.

'thinking there is something I should be doing instead (cleaning/tidying/cooking/going to gym) in child free time...'

Ha!
Exactly!
Think of it as important for your mental health and well-being.

It returns, panic not.
The only thging that hets in the way of a full recovery to bookworminess id if you start feeling guilty and self-indulgent, that you sould be doing something more beneficial to the household or for your children.
Suppress the idea that your life has become communal property and establish the concept that mummy is a human being too and entitled to a hobby for herself and you will all be fine.