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

Another one who thought it was just me!!!! I read masses on holiday then lost it again when I got back. Partly for me it's being a sahm and always thinking there is something I should be doing instead (cleaning/tidying/cooking/going to gym) in child free time...

Me too, all chick lit and gripping thrillers now. I thought it was just me this thread is great. I miss that wow feeling and satisfaction I used to get at the end of a great book.

My youngest is now 3 and I have been trying and failing to read wolf hall for over a year. I feel like reading is a skill I have lost ie it feels like work rather than pleasure.

I sometimes wonder if it is a skill I need to re-learn?

Sorry for long post but this has been really playing on my mind recently.

Several years of reading poetry, short stories and books I'd read before.
It gets a lot easier as they get older, teenage years are fab for long periods of time on your own, especially early morning.
I found scuttling around bent over quite hard as well.

So glad it's not just me. DS is nearly 2 and I still can't concentrate to finish a book. It's such a shame because it's something I really enjoy.

Maybe we could start a book club where some one suggests a book and we agree to discuss at certain points (eg every 5 chapters) would encourage us to get to a point in a time frame and by discussing plot we may be more encouraged to finish the book?

Yes I've really struggled since having DD. I pick up loads of books in the library but can only get into maybe 1 in 5 of what I choose. Generally I have defaulted to page turning thrillers /crime fiction which I do usually finish even though many aren't particularly well written. I have managed to find some good authors this way but picked up some duds too. I struggle to get through a chapter or two then when I finally manage to pick it back up I forget what's happened so far!

I had two babies 18 months apart (they're 2.1 and 7m now) and have struggled to read anything much since DC1 was born. Not lacking in motivation at all, just too tired most of the time. I have read a little bit lately, but it has to be easy-going and entertaining as my baby brain just can't cope with anything that requires a bit of concentration! I read 'The Rosie Project' and 'You had me at hello' recently. Both easy reads but entertaining.

Hoping things improve as the kids get older to be honest!

It's only since my youngest was about 4 that I have started reading again. To be honest only light stuff. It needs to be something where it doesn't matter if I only read a few pages, or go a few days without picking it up again. Or if get interrupted every five minutes! Or fall asleep

I didn't read much when either of the DC were babies - just too busy changing nappies, feeding etc and the whole day was gone and too exhausted to pick up a book.

Things picked up a lot more when DS started sleeping better, and then started nursery and I had a few hours to myself. Now things are back to normal. Both DC are in school, and I have time to do housework, listen to audio books, and read. It does get better :)

I have four children, and it's only since my youngest turned 3 and started sleeping, that I have been able to start reading again. You will do again - and love it again I'm sure, but you may just have to be patient!

Me too. Had one child in 2010, another in 2012 & I can't follow a plot anymore. I've re-read old favourites but can't remember the last time I read a new book. I really miss it but don't have the concentration anymore. I'm hoping it will come back in the future.

I was more alert (and much more tired) after ds came along, less able to lose myself underwater in a book. But i joined a book club when he was a few weeks old so i must have had some spare attention - he was a fairly good sleeper tho so maybe thats why.
I would go with it, develop a magazine habit eg new scientist, prospect. Books will return to you in time.

Me too, and books are how I make a living! Two babies in quick succession, 2011 and 2013, and I struggle to find a minute to myself. I feel I should always be doing something else.
I have managed to finish books on some long train journeys I have had to take for work.

Same here, just about cope with Hello magazine and then io mostly look at the pictures.

I used to spend most of my life reading before DD so it feels as though I have loads of time on my hands.

Have you tried maybe audiobooks?

I'm the same too. My DC are about the same age as yours. I've managed to read the Hunger Games books, but during post-Christmas jetlag (visiting family abroad). I've managed the occasional children's book like Ballet Shoes I love older kids books but nothing substantial or that I haven't read a dozen times before.

I fantasise about reading. But anytime I have an opportunity rare I just can't summon the enthusiasm or concentration. DS2 starts nursery two mornings a week in September and I'm hoping I'll find the time and energy then.

Until then, I guess it's old favourites I don't have to pay attention to.

I'm the same too. I read a lot when I went back to work after dc1 but only during my commute and even then I couldn't cope with highbrow books, just trashy novels.

I'm on mat leave again now and can barely sustain concentration to read a magazine.

I expect it to pass at some point!!

Hi I'm exactly the same, though you may not want to know how long it's been since I've read a proper book! (10 years ish). I feel that my concentration has gone. Like you I would read all the time, get totally absorbed in a book.
I can just about read a magazine these days. I have managed a couple of light books (chick lit) and Harry potter. But that's it.