Do you read with your 9 year old every night ?

[Annabey]

If so for how long ?

work issues I’ll health etc have all ment we’ve been slacking for the past 6 months
feel
so guilty

child is at greater depth with reading and writing so at least not fallen behind through us

9 and 10.

Both very able independent readers too (ie greater depth at school) so it’s not that they can’t read independently (& they do, lots), but we all love that bedtime story part of the day. We read quite challenging books, either in theme or because they’re older so a bit harder to access eg we read Great Expectations over the summer, Goodnight Mr Tom just before Christmas. I’m sure for them a lot of it is more about the focused time with a parent, and the routine.

DD1 and dd2 I'd given up reading to them when they were around 4/5yo because they wanted to read to themselves.

Ds I read every night until he was about 12yo because he liked it. Normally he'd only choose non-fiction to read to himself, so I'd choose a book I liked and read to him. We got through all sorts with lots of discussion about the books.

Don't feel guilty. My reading was and is a bit hit or miss. Maybe do it at weekends. We only eat at the table at weekends and apparently that is another thing you are 'meant' to do.

I haven't read to my 7 year old in ages. She reads by herself. Occasionally, she likes to read to me. But as a relatively advanced reader, she can't be bothered with waiting for me to read to her! I wouldn't expect most 9 year olds to have their parents read to them.

No. Almost never. I love books and so does she. In fact she's an absolutely voracious reader. I probably read to my eldest for longer but he wouldn't read independently so it was the only was I was going to get literature into him! I really wouldn't feel guilty if you don't have time to do it. There's a million things I'd like to do if I had the time but I don't. We're all just doing our best.

I should also add that I know loads of parents of 9year olds and NONE of them read to their kids at night so I don't think you're alone OP!

What IS a non-negotiable for me though is that screens go off about 45 minutes before lights out and are removed from their rooms. So they read that way. I don't choose what they read- they have comfort reads like I do. It might help though that we are early to bed people and early risers so we are all in bed and reading by 9 pm.

Occasionally at bedtime if she asks but we usually just chat and cuddle. She's a fluent reader and reads to herself every night.

My 9 year old reads every night before bed, but we aren't always physically present. Sometimes one of us will sit and listen, but often she just reads and then turns her light out and goes to bed.

goodness, Yes my 11yr (yr 6) boy has SEN, but he loves his nighttime story that I read, is disappointed if we are out and it’s too late, I read a chapter a night (currently Famous 5), we have the sets, he is reading independently but at age 8/9 level, so reads himself afterwards.

I too love the routine and hope it lasts…

I have always read to him before bed, suspect it won’t change for some time 🥰

Oh- and not sure this will help anyone - but we recently got netlifx and I just cannot be arsed to turn off the English subtitles. I have noticed that both mine have much improved vocabularies as a result.

Both my 7-yr old and 9-yr old read to themselves every night before lights out, but the 7-yr old would riot of he wasn't also read to prior to that! My 9-yr old asks for a story 90% of the time but sometimes he just wants to go straight to reading on his own, or sometimes straight to sleep.

My 7-yr old is still happy with mainly picture books stories, although we also read a lot of choose-your-own-adventure/reader engagement type ones, and sometimes non-fiction. The 9-yr old wants chapters from longer books and is happy for us to read a long book like this over months.

Oh i loved Famous Five. I wish mine had gotten into it. (I did try).

Mines 11 and I still read a chapter or two of a novel to him every night and then he reads his own book when I've gone. However, I have bad bruxism and some days I can barely move my jaw and it can last a few weeks and those times I don't. Remember, there are some kids who don't get read to past 3 or 4, if not even earlier, and they get on great. You have no reason to feel guilty, it's just one of those things. There are far worse things that you could be beating yourself up about but the fact you are shows what a caring parent you are and that's the most important thing to be.