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Original poster

What age did you stop bedtime stories?

138 replies

AmIreallyBeverly · 07/02/2023 12:58

We've always read a bedtime story. My daughter will be 13 this year and I still read her a chapter or two of a book before bed. It's very much led by her and she's started occassionally saying she doesn't want me to read. That's fine but I'll miss it when she no longer wants it at all. I won't necessarily miss the books though - she likes some nonsense!

What age did you stop?

OP posts:
evtheria · 07/02/2023 18:57

What about some of the classics, then? Lord
Of the Flies, The Time Traveller, The Snow Spider.... some of Malorie Blackman's old work?

evtheria · 07/02/2023 19:04
  • The Time MACHINE, woops!
starlingdarling · 07/02/2023 19:11

I'm surprised by the responses here. It's really sweet. I assumed parents would long for the days they stopped having to read and do a bedtime routine.

Mariposista · 07/02/2023 19:13

6 because she loves reading on her own. But we still have ore bedtime chats.

Pashazade · 07/02/2023 19:27

Still going strong at 11 here. I do love it. OP your daughter might enjoy the what if? Books they're lots of short essays on random science things. Oh and The Last Dragonslayer series by Jasper Fforde

afinishedkiss · 07/02/2023 19:29

I am absolutely shocked that anyone still reads with a 13 year old. Mine binned me when they were about 8. I feel cheated! I think it is fabulous that your daughter still wants this time with you. Cherish that time. Also the poster that mentioned that her and her child read quietly together. I just love that.

DelurkingAJ · 07/02/2023 19:36

When DDad was dying, DM read to him every day. She read him Treasure Islamd, his all time favourite novel. You’re never too old to be read to!

We tend to read DSs things that would challenge them (DS1 (10) and DH are currently reading Discworld and I’m reading DS2 (6) Narnia).

youmustbemad · 07/02/2023 20:38

This is such a lovely thread. I remember being outraged at about 8 that my parents wanted to skip reading to me just because I had two younger siblings that wanted reading to as well, and had been reading to myself for 3 years. I wanted both! Which is what we now do with my 9 year old, one of us reads to him for half an hour or so, then he reads to himself for another hour. 6yo has just this week started reading to herself for extended periods but hopefully will keep wanting to be read to until we get through a few more of the books I want to introduce her to.

youmustbemad · 07/02/2023 20:39

Oh also I read to my husband sometimes when he's got insomnia. I don't like being read to myself these days, it's way too slow, but he loves it.

Yarnosaura · 07/02/2023 20:46

My ds is nearly 20, and his dad still reads to him 3 or 4 times a week. He's a capable reader, university student, autistic and oblivious to social conventions around such things. It's like their own little book club.

Tisfortired · 07/02/2023 20:54

DS1 is 9 and we still read a couple of chapters of a book each night, sometimes we take turns but usually he’s too tired and likes me to read. He always has 2 books on his nightstand, one we’re reading together and a book he reads independently, which he’ll keep reading if he’s not too tired after we’re done. I am happy to hear previous posters still reading to their slightly older kids so it makes me happy we might have a few more years reading yet 😊 I also love the idea a pp mentioned if reading separate books together at bed time.

ZebraKid71 · 07/02/2023 20:58

This is the nicest thread I have seen on mumsnet in a very long time.

My eldest is only 5 but we read chapter books together every night after his younger siblings have failed asleep, he reads a bit then I read a bit. I don't enjoy it as much with younger kids but as he has got older and the books more exciting it is one of my favourite things to do.

RudsyFarmer · 07/02/2023 20:58

I still read to my ten year old. He also reads to himself. I can clearly remember my mum no longer having the time to read to me and it was upsetting. So my plan is to never stop 🤭

ichundich · 07/02/2023 21:01

AmIreallyBeverly · 07/02/2023 12:58

We've always read a bedtime story. My daughter will be 13 this year and I still read her a chapter or two of a book before bed. It's very much led by her and she's started occassionally saying she doesn't want me to read. That's fine but I'll miss it when she no longer wants it at all. I won't necessarily miss the books though - she likes some nonsense!

What age did you stop?

Mine are 9 and 12 and we still read each night. We usually take turns and spend between 5 and 15 minutes reading.

Saracen · 07/02/2023 21:04

Bedtime stories for my eldest pretty much stopped the day DC2 was born 😢because the little one had such serious health issues and life was fraught. We only did them occasionally after that, though we did have daytime reading sometimes.

DC2 is 16 and still has a bedtime story, though sometimes we replace it with a puzzle such as a crossword. She does have special needs so it feels quite important.

ToriLynn · 07/02/2023 21:10

My DC are still tiny, so for many years ahead of us, but my dad reads to me till I was in college! It was a lovely 20 minutes just for us each night, I remember those times so fondly and love that I'm now getting to make those memories with my own DC. 🥰

Rainbowgrey · 07/02/2023 21:16

My 7 year old is an excellent reader but she loves being read to. I'm currently reading them (also have a 6 year old) the last book in the Rainbow Grey series. I'd highly recommend it to anyone with little girls, even I love it. They would happily have me read the whole book in one go but I'm trying to drag it out as it gets them to go to bed!

Sucessinthenewyear · 07/02/2023 21:18

aSofaNearYou · 07/02/2023 14:29

That's an odd comment. My 21yo was read to until he was 15 and is a voracious reader and a published writer, in his second year of uni after getting a first in his first year. No issues with independent reading whatsoever, he just loved being able to close his eyes and have someone else do the character voices etc. It was a lovely time.

That's why I said I was interested! I've never known anyone that could read, be read to, so I was interested to know what the appeal was/if it was more appealing for people that couldn't read confidently themselves. It's not a judgment.

DH and I often share a book by reading to each other. I suppose it’s similar to an audiobook which are very popular.

Justputitdown · 07/02/2023 21:24

This thread is the nicest thing I've read all day.

ImaMumtoaboy · 07/02/2023 21:25

My ds has just turned 11 and we still do "story time" every night as a family. Only have ds. We have done this since he was born. The 3 of us lie on top of my bed and ds reads to us or 1 of us reads. That could be a few pages of a beano, football magazine or a chapter of a book. Then ds has 30 min chill out time to read or listen to an audio book.

Yika · 07/02/2023 21:37

I've recently stopped reading to my 12 y o DD but mostly because the book we were reading was a bit long-winded and we got bored. I might start again with something else. I tend to read her classics that are a bit wordy and old-fashioned that she wouldn't read herself. I sometimes read poems to her too. She is a voracious reader herself but her own choices are different from the read aloud ones.

Oncetheystartschool · 07/02/2023 21:43

Nicest thread ever! My DC are still young but the eldest reads independently so at bedtime I read a couple of short books to the youngest while eldest reads alone, then sit with eldest and we read rogether after youngest is asleep.

Sitting together under a big blanket each reading our own books is one of my favourite things. We both got kindles last year when they were on sale and have been enjoying the random suggestions from Amazon kids subscription. Currently on Warrior Cats but also enjoyed Starfell series before Christmas. Waiting till age 10ish to start Harry Potter as it gets quite scary quite quickly I feel.

I read many childrens classics like Roald Dahl, Enid Blyton etc aloud to both DC during lockdown and enjoyed doing all the characters. Tried reading the Hobbit aloud last year but we abandoned it and will try again when DC slightly older. The songs and some of the fights weren't appropriate. I had to edit out the giant spider chapter on the fly and found it hard to keep the story flowing. I now read any reading aloud books myself first to check or remind myself of the details!

FlyingSquid · 07/02/2023 21:47

Somewhere in the teens, we meandered into back-translating Harry Potter from French to English at bedtime, and within a few weeks things had swapped round so that she was reading it to me. She’s better at the voices than I ever was.

We made it through most of the Harry Potter books before she went off to uni and still do a spot of Random Translated Children’s Book when she’s home.

Wallabyone · 07/02/2023 22:01

My eldest will be 11 soon and I still read to him at least 4 times a week. He's an avid reader and so he reads his book, but I will be reading another separate book to him. The one I read is usually more challenging. Over the years, I've read him books including The Borrowers, The Railway Children, Goodnight Mr Tom, Peter Pan, Narnia books, Tom's Midnight Garden and The Wind in the Willows.

He and I both love it, and I'll carry on as long as he wants me to.

LaughingCat · 07/02/2023 22:06

This thread! ❤️

This has been the nicest way to finish my day. I love how so many get to read together with their kids for so many years. I had no idea! Definitely something I hope we get to do for just as long.