When did you start bedtime stories?

[sebsmama]

Reading is very important to DH and I and we have both always loved books. We really want to pass this love onto DS, nearly 11 months.
Perhaps I am expecting too much but he's just not interested in books. He will sit down with me during the day and listen for a page or so but then just wants to close the book or eat it. I often read him a story whilst he is playing but this is probably a bit pointless!
Bedtime stories don't happen as he almost always falls asleep when feeding (I know, I know!!)I have tried reading him a story before his feed once he's in his jammies but he just closes the book, fidgets and fusses.
Is he just too young? Should I keep trying? When did you start regularly reading stories to your LOs? Is he just destined to hate books??

I read to DS from when he was born - seriusoly wjhen we were still in hospital. From about 8-13 montsh he just wanted to tear the books - board books too - so we stopped and picked up again later. He is 18 montsh old now and has been really into books for the last 3 or 4 months. Mostly board books with flaps, or texttured bits on the pages, but he will also pretend to read books with real pages too.

Stick at it, it'll come.

Stick with it. Mine joined the library at around 6 months and we took it from there.

DS1 wasn't really interested in listening to a story until about 2 1/2.

Before then, they liked the lift the flap type, or the touchy feely ones, but saw it as more of a toy than a book, IYSWIM.

Don't push it or stress about it, it'll come in time.

Ds2 is 17 months and is obsessed with lift the flap and pop up books, but does tend to trash them.

DS1 - 3.5, loves his bedtime story and really enjoys being read to, as long as he can look at the pictures.

We started to read to dd when when was a year old, but then she has always been quite gentle with her books and enjoyed sitting and listening to the stories. Although now at 2.7 we have to read the exact same 3 stories in the same order every night, which frustrates me when I look at all the other books we could read!

What Jojay says, ds always liked books but at first it was tearing them (6-9 months or so), then just looking at pictures, opening flaps etc. Suddenly, when he was 2,6 he demanded! beeing read to, and no baby books please, real stories! since then we have read the original winnie-ther-pooh, some astrid lindgren... language has really made a leap since then as well.

We started with regular bedtime rhymes, like the house that Jack built, the owl and the pussycat, one man went to mow (or Billy Connelly's version, Three men frae Carntyne)at about four months and that caried on till she was five or six.

She loved board books and lift-the-flap from about 5-6 months. I held them and she lifted the flaps and turned the pages. As soon as she could crawl she would fetch a book, crawl over and plonk it on my lap, climb up and stick her thumb in her mouth expectantly.

Books with faces and animals (so you could male animal noises) and those with strong rhythms were most popular. 'Each peach pear plum' 'going on a bear hunt' 'Ten in the bed' were huge hits.

Happy memories

My 11m DD has a pretty short attention span when it comes to listening to a story, so things like Apple Pear Orange Bear are quite good, and peekaboo books. Books are still toys at this stage and they don't really understand story per se, so I wouldn't worry. Copying what they see you doing will help too, so if DS sees you reading that'll be good.

Only within the past few months (DS is 2.6) when he started asking for a story before bed. We've always done a story before nap time though.

DS has gone through phases of not touching his books, then wanting several stories a day. It's only fairly recently that he's had the attention span for a proper story though.

Until he was ready for that, we did quite a lot of just looking at books and pointing out things on the page, and talking about what we could see. That held his attention for a bit longer than trying to just read out what was on the page.

yes stick with it

dd was just like yours
then at 15m ish she twigged that if we were busy and she brought us a toy we'd say 'oh lovely, dd, is that your truck?' etc but if she brought us a book she'd get hoisted onto our lap for a good five minutes of premium interaction.

Stories are also a bit of a red herring at this age - they're not good at following a narrative. Ones with flaps, feely bits and (later) familiar objects to point at and name are much better, if more tedious for you, and, as mentioned below, rhyming ones so they canm appreciate the rythm rather than the story.

From 18m or so dd wanted to be told a story in bed (ie made up on the spot, not from a book) and now, at 2.7, we share three books before bed, one of which is a proper story (often Topsy and Tim) and the other two whatever she likes, inc rhymes, flap book setc.

sebsmama - my dd is 16 mnths and we have been looking at books from about 9 months. Of course she doesn't really "understand" the stories, but loves to turn the pages.

Books that are touch and feel, make a noise, and have flaps are great. I think during the day they are too wound up, and as you say, fall alseep at bedtime, so we always do stories and bottle before bath, and then straight to bed after bath.

I just stuck with it and now she loves it, I say "storytime" and she toddles off to her room and passes me books.

Persevere, when I started with it she wasn't that interested but loves it now.

by the way - try the Eric Carle books - "the hungry caterpillar, brown bear brown bear, the birthday surprise. She loves these - they are classics for a reason I guess!

Stories (or books in general) pretty much from day one.

Your problem might just be from assuming he will react to books in the same way as an adult. Remember, he doesn't really know what a book IS yet. "He will listen for a page or so but then just wants to close the book or eat it." So what? If he is enjoying doing that then he is enjoying books.

"I have tried reading him a story before his feed once he's in his jammies but he just closes the book, fidgets and fusses." So what? And why read before a feed, rather than during or after? Would YOU sit still and listen to a story if you were waiting to eat? At the moment, he knows from experience that the feed "delivers" whereas, for the books, he has yet to be convinced ...

Keep reading to him, make sure the overall experience is positive, but try not to get frustrated if he wants to skip pages, skip back pages, open and close the book at random, point and (if he is speaking) ask "what's that?" over and over again, or even wanders off - he is probably still listening with one ear while he's playing!

You're doing it right, keep at it!

Obviously, seeing you and your husband reading your own books for pleasure also sets a strong example which he will probably want to emulate.

My DS (11 months) is also like this, always trying to close the book, reaching for another one or trying to climb down. I try to keep him focussed by asking him to point to things on the page (usually cats, mice or ducks!) and getting him to turn the pages. His favourite book at the minute is 'Dear Zoo' as he loves opening the flaps. So keep trying and as his attention level increases it will get easier

Thanks all - I didn't expect so many replies. I think I will relax about it a little bit. I like the idea of moving story time to before bath time, and will let him close and eat the book if that's what he wants!
I am so excited about introducing him to Winnie the Pooh etc that perhaps I am going too fast - will go back to the flap books....

Worth adding, too, that children like different things in the same books (and DVDs) as they grow.

My daughter loved "The Cat In The Hat" when she was still about 6 months. Naturally, she did not understand a word of it - she just liked the sounds. Now, at 2 and a bit, she likes matchnig the words to the pictures. A imagine she will like it again at the "recommended" age of 6 to 9 when she can actually understand what's going on!

In other words, no need to wait to introduce Pooh - again, just be aware that your son may not be getting out of it the same things as you do - and that's absolutely fine.

Dear Zoo - guaranteed winner and a good "going out" book (small, light, doesn't rip, fits under pram, can be read on bus ...)

Ditto The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Thanks MIFLAW for your tips. We looked at his 2 That's Not My ... books today and one of them held his attention for a good while - I kept it out with his toys and he came back to it a few times, he loves one of the scratchy panels on it.
He has some beautiful editions of Pooh, so I might see if I can get a baby edition that he can play around with.
I remember my little brother having Dear Zoo when we were tiny, think I will get that for him. We have the Hungry Caterpillar, he loves the taste of that one
Thank you for taking the time to respond, and hope your DD continues to enjoy Dr Seuss - DS got given Dr Seuss' ABCs for Christmas and it's fab, she may like that one too.

We always read books and looked at books with DD from her being very tiny. Although this was throughout the day rather than bedtime. I just felt it was important.

When she went into her own bed we introduced a proper bedtime, with a story in her room. That was at 18 months.