Am I reading to DC enough?

[Overthebow]

My dd is 5 and in year 1. We tend to read her a bedtime story most nights, and I listen to her read her school book a few times a week. Is this enough? I keep hearing friends mention in conversation about reading 3 or 4 books a night, and school book reading every day. How often do you read to your DC?

LO is 3.5 and we read probably 5-10 books together per day but she’s only just learning to read and loving it. I have always read to her a lot but she has her own interest in books and reading so always asks for more/ has a book with her.

I have worked with kids that would only tolerate a couple a day without getting stressed. I would maybe up the amount if DC enjoys it, if not there are other ways to practice reading.

I’m an American Lit lecturer so books are quite literally my life. I read to DC a similar amount to you. 7 yo reads at bedtime by himself now because he prefers it and I tend to read 2 books to 5 yo but sometimes 3-4 because he asks for them and I’m soft.

As a teacher and parent to a child in the same year as yours if you're not reading enough then neither am I. One book a night or one chapter if we're reading a longer book and his school book a handful of times a week is plenty. He also reads in other situations lots during the week, e.g. Christmas card messages, packaging etc. Three or four books a night seems excessive.

@Overthebow absolute bollox and one upmanship. Ignore them - if you read that much to kid that age they’d just be bored and zone out!

I have one in reception and the other is nearly 2.

We try to read 3 books a day. The school book every other day. Each picks one book for bedtime and I pick one to read to them myself.

Some nights there is no bedtime story or only 1 because let's face it this is real life and sometimes other things get in the way.

20 is plenty - 20mins reading that is, not books. If your child enjoys it, then you can read more. Ask them questions as you go along so you can check understanding too.

As for the 3-4 books a day, this graphic illustrates why reading is important to develop vocabulary. But no point reading that many books if your child isn’t enjoying it as they will just switch off and maybe even start to refuse reading. Make it enjoyable and fun OP for both of you.

One long book might be better than 5 v short ones. Some kids just get the same book 5 times which isn’t the same.

you are doing fine.

Reading is a pleasure here and I hope my kids will develop a love for reading widely and broadly. We are members of the local library and probably go every 6 weeks to get that breadth of literature and vocabulary, in addition to having a good library of children's books.