Do your toddlers also want to read the same books over and over again?

[solarsystem87]

My child wasn't really interested in books in the first year of life. He found them exciting to sink his teeth into. But the pictures and stories didn't interest him.

He will be 2 in the spring and he has been interested in books for about half a year. But I have to read him the same books over and over again. I know that repetition is important for children. And we also have a whole shelf of different children's books. But he always chooses the same ones for weeks. Is it the same with your toddlers?

Yes, well she's 6 and enjoys a selection of five books each night, she enjoys doing actions and repeating the same things every single night. It helps her get off to sleep.

It's a thing. Do not buy You Choose. I had to 'read' it everyday for the best part of year until I hid it.

My kids are older now but it's totally normal. My ds used to make me read the same postman pat book every night!

My almost 19 month old constantly gives me the same book/s to read over and over again.
My mum bought her dinky donkey for Xmas, I've hidden it as it was driving me mad.
She'll make me read a book to her several times and then she'll sit and "read" it out loud herself which is pretty cute actually

Yep DD 2.5 here and she will insist on the same book 12 times in a row sometimes. She tends to have one she's obsessed with then it'll switch to something else. She has tons of books too, but totally oblivious to most of them!

My DS is 21 now but yes ... that brings back memories .. the same tedious story every.single.night ... I used to hide the 'favourite' in the end and insist on a new book .

Yep. Especially the Julia Donaldsons. I've read stick man to my 2.5 year old every day for about 3 weeks. Before that it was the snail and the whale.

This is bringing back memories of Elmer's Friends. It 'accidentally' fell down the back of the bookcase and wasn't 'found' for a couple of months. Some of them I didn't mind. We're Going on a Bear Hunt was always fun to read, I saw a YouTube of Michael Rosen reading it with a beat and I used to do it the same way. I quite enjoyed doing the different accents for The Gruffalo, the fox sounded very much like Leslie Phillips.

Very normal.

Dd is 3 and can recite the not now Bernard book - her current favourite.

Even my year 2 class enjoy hearing the same story over and over again.

Always. It’s a developmental stage. Just cross your fingers it’s a good one they choose.

I still remember tbe story about the duckling that didn't like rain and ds is now 36.

Years, not months.

Grief, no! My two were voracious readers from the ages of 2 and 3 respectively (high IQ autistic) but also loved me reading to them at bedtime. I used to get 18 books a week out of the children’s library and we got through the lot - there wasn’t time for repetition, and they didn’t want it.
DD1, now in her thirties, can still tell me the title, author and plot resume for any of the thousands of books we read!

My 8 year old still asks to do this book

DD1 no. DD2 yes, she is particularly taken with a phonics very early reader which has to be the most boring book every published.

Oh yes, I remember those days. “There was an old lady who swallowed a fly” was a particular favourite- so much so I knew it off by heart and would also have to recite it to them at bedtime along with singing “two little boys” (Rolf Harris 😬) and “you are my sunshine” several times!

Enjoy OP!

DD(now an adult) had me reading a particular Ladybird storybook every night for weeks when she was around 2yrs old.I could recite that book word for word off by heart and so could DD as she would always catch me out if I tried to skip a page or two.

That's a 'granny's house' book for mine 😆😆

But in answer to your question, yes it's a thing. DD is 18m and we read have to read the same things over and over again. But she does sometimes 'read' to herself now which is very cute, especially when she then gets to a picture of an animal. 'Babble babble babble roar' or 'babble babble babble neigh' 😆😆

Yeah.
Mine had a 'bill and Ben' phase, probably because it was the most exceptionally inane of her books, it irritated me even on first reading.

So, you choose one, DC chooses (same flipping one again), you choose one....

At that age we did 4 books at bedtime, they each chose a book and I chose two others. It clearly paid off, they are both good readers.

I can remember having my mum read ‘Carrie Hepple’s Garden’ to me night after night. I think it’s very usual.

Yes

Room on the Broom
Cave Baby
You Choose

I have to start hiding them or I lose the will to live.

I am 56. My Dad can still recite the first couple of pages of a book he used to read to me at that age as he read it so many times.
He could probably do more of it but we dont let him get get going...

I still have flashbacks to the hungry hippos walking over the hill nearly 30 years later.

They all do this at the early language stages. Picture books are good at this age as the child can tell you the story whilst you pretend to be interested (and also good for vocab/language development compared to word books).

Ahhh. I remember those, happy days. I like it when. Hungry caterpillar. The Mole that needed glasses. Again and again and again.

Not now Bernard. ❤️