Share your top tips for reading with toddlers and win £300 worth of books NOW CLOSED

[EmilyMumsnet]

Every parent loves to snuggle up with the kids and a good book - but a strong case of the fidgets can often bring a reading session to a (literal) screeching halt.

This week we're asking you for your top tips for reading with babies and toddlers. What do they enjoy? What do you enjoy about the experience?

Baby Campbell's brand new series of finger trail books are the perfect interactive reads for curious children, designed for ages six months and up, each page has finger trails cut in, which follow the story across the page and there are lots of flaps to lift.

Share your tips and you'll be in the running to win a year's supply of adult books and a year's supply of children's books, courtesy of Baby Campbell. You can choose 48 books from a selection of titles on the Pan Macmillan website, up to the value of £300.

This competition is now closed. The winner will be contacted shortly

The key is letting them choose. We have a lot of tantrums if I pick the wrong book :-)

Make it part of their routine from as early as possible and make it fun. The trick is finding books they like, I found rhyming ones worked best and Julia Donaldson and the 'Underpants' series always seem to go down well.

Definitely start young and keep at it. 10 minutes every bedtime is better than an hour once a week.

Make books accessible, baskets of books around the house, not confined to the bedroom.

Find books that you want to read - there is nothing worse than ploughing through a book you hate every single night. There are thousands of children's books out there - life is too short to waste time wishing a painful death on Mr Happy.

Try to find different styles of writing. It's easy to get sucked into, for example, Julia Donaldson and not find other books.

Start young - I started reading to/with DD before she was three or four months old
Unless its a library book, let them play and interact with the book - if a few pages might need sticking together with tape, so be it as accidents happen - but try to teach them to respect books too
Board books, flap books and cloth books are great for tinies
My DD seemed to engage better with books that had a rhythm or rhyme - and she would get involved by finishing off the sentence (encouraged her understanding of rhyme, too)
Have books all over the house in places the child can reach them independently
Let them see you reading and enjoying reading too!

I start looking at books as soon as the baby can focus and seems interested. Try to find a comfortable, quiet spot and snuggle up reading clearly, using voices and action if it helps, allowing the child to turn the pages and look at pictures. Get the child interacting and pointing at the picture and occasionally point to a word such as the name of their favourite character so they understand letters make sounds which mean something. If there is a repeated theme such as the word roar I signal to them each time I'm about to sy the word so they can join in and roar!

Read slowly but in an animated fashion. Short and sweet stories work best

I used to take my children to story time at our local library when they were toddlers. i got my children lots of very brightly coloured story books about animals. Their favourite book was "Dear Zoo" as we used to try and do some of the animal noises. Taking on the voice of some of the book characters can be fun for children as it makes the story more exciting.

Make it fun for both of you. Use very silly voices, apart from your toddler no one else will hear.

Read from a very early age as small babies so they have a love of books. Turn the TV off, give them your full attention and have them close to you. I take my daughters to the library weekly to choose their books. With toddlers they love repetition so also include their favourites, ask them and chat about the story to see if they understand/helps with learning. I also try to get her to choose stories that aren't too long as she will get bored easily, so I keep it fun and use expression when I read! Reading before bed is also part of our routine which she loves, 2 books one for each hand!

Sorry I've gone on a bit there!!! Hope that is OK, I do think reading is so important for children.

So many of the tips have been said again and again - they're all true.

I'd add that even very young babies who can't speak like books they can join in with - my friend's tiny DD used to find the mouse in the That's Not My books and my DD used to blink/snuggle/rustle along with the animals in her Over In The Farm book when she was very young indeed. It's an amazing way to see how much they hear and understand before they can talk.

Top tip for toddlers and pre-schoolers is to get some sets of really small handbag sized books so you've always got a couple in the nappy bag. And those buggy buddy books on springs of course, but you also need something you can actually read to them when you're stuck in a queue. Never go anywhere without a book has always been my parenting motto, and even now they're tweens, the last moments before we leave the house are filled with cries of "Coats! Water bottle! Books!"

Have a cuddle at the same time,

I've read to both my little boys since they were born. I believe that starting to read with them at a young age is a big part in their development.

My eldest loves "Dinosaurs Love Underpants" at the moment, so much so that I had to read if 5 times in a row the other night! I don't mind though. I know that children learn by repetition.

I just settle them down in some quiet time and read whatever they want. I always spoke to them constantly as babies as well - stories, what I was doing, what was happening anything really.

Best reading from when they are babies so it becomes a good routine, and I found when reading to toddlers they are more engaged with books with rhyming stories and lovely pictures

Make it interactive, really get their engagement, point to pictures, allow them to turn pages. Use different tones and types of voice to really bring characters and features alive. Above all make it fun - laugh, express surprise - show a gamut of emotion as befits the story that will leave toddlers hanging on your every word! That's the theory of it anyway!

I've always found that the best way to start is simply to surround them with age-appropriate books. When they are ready they will start to pick them up and explore them by themselves, and then you can gradually start to look at books and read them to them. They won't sit and listen at first but if you persevere (patiently of course!) they soon will take an interest. Then when they do, really make sure that you read to them every day - make it part of your daily routine, i.e before bed, and they will grow to love books and reading. If you're interested in books yourself then reading in front of them will also model a love of books to them! :)

Don't be afraid / embarrassed to act the story out and use different voices and silly noises - this will only imprint the joy and excitement of reading into the child's mind even more.

Take some time away from the norm and sit quietly, read the story and then re-read with the child explaining and helping with words giving encouragement all the time. It becomes a treat and pleasure for both adult and child.

Start off with small books with just one coloured picture on a page. like a yellow duck or red bus, then progress to a book with 1 picture on and the word of the item
After that I go with 1 sentence per page
children love books and will sit with you as they get older to read them with you

Read in small bursts so that they don't lose concentration. Also, try to read a variety of different things.

we started young and it helped there was a library on the doorstep that was so child friendly

Start reading with them as young as possible. Babies love to hear silly voices and see funny faces. Let them hold the books themselves as soon as they are able. Fabric books that make sounds are fabulous to get babies interested in reading. Trace your own finger along the words, so that they will copy. Use books with repetitive storylines, so that they can join in - one of our favourites was The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

As they get a little older,talk about everything on the page, not just the words in the story. Ask them about the characters and the pictures. Involve them as much as possible.

Most of all, enjoy the experience. Relax yourself and they will too. Reading time is a great excuse for a cuddle as well!

One of the saddest things I've ever heard about reading, was a friend of mine bought a very expensive set of books for her daughter. However, they were there to decorate the little girl's bedroom and the child was never allowed to touch them, in case they got marked or dirty. I thought that was cruel and such a waste of an opportunity. :(

I read to both my DDS (now 3 & 5) from when they were very little. There are great cloth books (especially the lamaze ones which crinkle and are multi-sensory) to bath books, buggy books and board books. Regular trips to the library (at least once a week) immerses children in the whole experience of reading; choosing their own books, exploring what the library has to offer and ensuring books/reading is a completely positive experience. The 'That's not my' series of books have been a hit, plus Rod Campbell's books and Lucy Cousin's Maisy books. They also love the lift-the-flap books as they give an extra fun dimension. When I read to my DDs I always use different voices for characters and sound effects to make it as enjoyable as possible. We read every night as part of my DDs' bedtime routine, and it is always a very special part of our parent/child relationship

start reading to them as early an age as possible and as they get a little older find simple, bright coloured books about things they like ie if they like animals or the seaside etc

My children always loved the books with repetitive rhymes, that way they felt like they were reading the book.