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Children's books

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Original poster

What age did your children stop actively asking for a bedtime story?

27 replies

Pascha · 01/04/2023 13:12

Or if they still enjoy it, how old are they currently?

My 12yo ds still asks for it before settling himself down at night. Not every night but we always have a good adventure book on the go. We pick books he would never choose for himself and he obviously still gets a lot out of it and so do I but I'm aware he's probably in a minority by now.

I'll be a bit sad when it does end.

OP posts:
justanotherdaduser · 01/04/2023 14:15

You are lucky!

DD stopped asking by the time she was in year 2 (so about 7 or so) and we missed it very much initially, especially the discusssions about those books at various random times throughout the day.

Later on we read together some more difficult books she wouldn't have normally picked up on her own, but it wasn't the same and not regular.

Original poster
Pascha · 01/04/2023 14:24

I didn't think it would survive transition to secondary school tbh. But theres something about him being able to switch off from obnoxious preteen bravado last thing at night when it's just us and he completely is the one pushing for it. I think it resets his mind before sleep.

Ds2 is 10 and he likes a story too but he definitely is happier to read to himself.

OP posts:
MargaretThursday · 01/04/2023 16:06

Dd1 was 5yo. Tbf that was probably at least part that the books she was interested in were beyond what dd2 wanted, so she had to wait for me to read to dd2 first, then she started reading them herself while she waited and found that better.
Dd2 was 4yo. She vastly preferred reading to herself from an early age, which I was quite sad about, but I guess she wanted to be like big sister too.
Ds was about 12/13yo. Like you I was surprised how long it continued. I'd choose books I liked and thought he'd like.

Okunevo · 01/04/2023 16:11
  1. At 6 we would take turns to read pages, he didn't ask once he was independently reading novels in his head, out loud was too slow for him!
Jackiebrambles · 01/04/2023 16:14

My dd is 7 and a few months ago she said she didn’t need me to read to her anymore as she can now read chapter books herself 😢. But she has backtracked now and I am still reading to her occasionally. It’s a lovely way to snuggle and spend time together. My son is 10 and he still really likes it too, he has to be in the mood though, so it’s definitely not every night. Once or twice a week maybe. He’s a cuddly boy though.

DutchCowgirl · 01/04/2023 16:21

I still read to my 9 year old son. Sometimes when it is a very interesting book, my 12 year old joins in listening.
My father lives in a home, and i often think then when my children don’t want to listen anymore, i’ll start reading there!

PennyPencils · 01/04/2023 16:31

About 9.
We were reading the Harry Potters.
Started book one me reading to her, then switched to taking turns reading a chapter and by the end she was reading her book while I read my own next to her.

Thingsthatgo · 01/04/2023 16:34

My two are 11 and 8 years old. I don't think it has occurred to them to stop Grin
It's my favourite part of the day.

CindersAgain · 01/04/2023 16:35

Still going with the 11 yr old.

ukholidayseeker · 01/04/2023 16:39

9 and 7. They don't get a choice in whether to have one or not. Their reading and writing levels are greater than expected for their ages so evidently benefiting them.

JacobsCrackersCheeseFogg · 01/04/2023 16:39

Once she started reading independently so about 7? I was rubbish at reading aloud (not very good at voices/acting) so I was quite relieved.

Okunevo · 01/04/2023 17:17

ukholidayseeker · 01/04/2023 16:39

9 and 7. They don't get a choice in whether to have one or not. Their reading and writing levels are greater than expected for their ages so evidently benefiting them.

DS was well ahead with reading even though I struggle to read aloud (trip over words and need to stop and start where there isn't a comma or full stop) and stopped when he was 7.

ReallyShouldBeDoingSomethingElse · 01/04/2023 17:24

DD loves books. She is reading chapter books and non-fiction books happily but she still actively wants me to read to her every night - either a chapter of the book she's reading, or one of the picture books, although I can feel the latter being slowly phased out which is sad.

Retrievemysanity · 01/04/2023 17:29

@PennyPencils exactly the same here!

TwigTheWonderKid · 01/04/2023 17:34

Still reading to my 14 yo DS at bedtime. We both love it but it's getting to the stage where I want to go to bed before him so not sure how much longer for.

Original poster
Pascha · 01/04/2023 18:12

TwigTheWonderKid · 01/04/2023 17:34

Still reading to my 14 yo DS at bedtime. We both love it but it's getting to the stage where I want to go to bed before him so not sure how much longer for.

Hurrah! Someone else the same. What books have been good for you? Ds likes adventure and either fantasy or other time periods. Nothing modern day.

OP posts:
TwigTheWonderKid · 01/04/2023 18:56

Pascha · 01/04/2023 18:12

Hurrah! Someone else the same. What books have been good for you? Ds likes adventure and either fantasy or other time periods. Nothing modern day.

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Interestingly for a boy who is usually very much a boy and otherwise fairly sophisticated and very worldly-wise (has a much older brother) he has a curious taste! He doesn't like much of the modern fiction aimed at his age group but he's loved books like The House with Chicken Legs and The Wildwitch books by Lene Kaaberbol and we are currently both enjoying the Robyn Stevens detective novels. But he's also enjoyed things like The Count of Montecristo and War and Peace. ...

TwigTheWonderKid · 01/04/2023 18:57

Oh, and the Lynne Reid Banks Indian in the Cupboard books.

notacooldad · 01/04/2023 18:57

Around 8. Then they started to have half an hour read time before lights out.

DelurkingAJ · 01/04/2023 18:59

Still reading to DS1 (10). DH is currently reading him Terry Pratchett. I can’t see it stopping any time soon…DS1 is fairly young in many ways.

HappyHoppy · 01/04/2023 19:03

TwigTheWonderKid · 01/04/2023 18:56

Interestingly for a boy who is usually very much a boy and otherwise fairly sophisticated and very worldly-wise (has a much older brother) he has a curious taste! He doesn't like much of the modern fiction aimed at his age group but he's loved books like The House with Chicken Legs and The Wildwitch books by Lene Kaaberbol and we are currently both enjoying the Robyn Stevens detective novels. But he's also enjoyed things like The Count of Montecristo and War and Peace. ...

Show quote history

My 9 year old son is desperate to read War and Peace - is the content suitable?

stargirl1701 · 01/04/2023 19:06

We are still going at 10 and 8 years. I hope it continues!

TwigTheWonderKid · 01/04/2023 19:15

HappyHoppy · 01/04/2023 19:03

My 9 year old son is desperate to read War and Peace - is the content suitable?

Show quote history

I don't think there's anything unsuitable in it but it's quite a thought-provoking read, isn't it re morality, life, and society units historical context and I'm not sure a 9 year old would be able to appreciate all of that?

Original poster
Pascha · 01/04/2023 21:12

@TwigTheWonderKid unfortunately he hated the house with chicken legs - said it was stupid...

We are currently on the last book of the Dreamsnatcher series by Abi Elphinstone. He likes her book, and Katherine Rundell too.

@DelurkingAJ He loved TP, especially the Amazing Maurice and Trucker, Diggers, Wings too. But tends to like listening to the audio books more than reading them. Hitchhikers GTTG he loved too.

Jules Verne has been a hit, especially Journey to the Centre of the Earth and 20,000 Leagues under the Sea. Also Treasure Island, The Railway Children and, w

The Hobbit, though if he wants to do LOTR he can read it himself. I don't have the willpower to wade through that.

Not sure about War and Peace just yet though...

OP posts:
MargaretThursday · 01/04/2023 22:13

Pascha · 01/04/2023 18:12

Hurrah! Someone else the same. What books have been good for you? Ds likes adventure and either fantasy or other time periods. Nothing modern day.

Show quote history

Sounds similar to ds. What went down well with him was:

Diana Wynne Jones
Narnia
Linnets and Valerians/Little White horse/Island Magic (Elizabeth Gouge)
Lone Pine Series/Marston Baines Series (Malcolm Saville)
Cue for Treason (Geoffrey Trease)
Alex Rider
Cherub/Henderson Boys series (have a read before you start and check them)
Biggles
Various Monica Edwards (the more adventurous ones-The White Riders, Storm Ahead, A Wind is Blowing, Fire in the Punchbowl were definitely some of them)
Violet Needham's Stormy Petrel series
Jennings
Some of the Swallows and Amazon series
Some Noel Streatfield (adventure ones or set during WWII)
The Machine Gunners
The Franchise Affair/Daughter of Time/Brat Farrar (Josephine Tey)
Antonia Forest's historical pair (The Player's boy/The Players and the Rebels)
And the last one I read with him (I started but he finished) was To Kill a Mockingbird.

What I would do is choose a book I liked that was either historical or adventures. If he liked it then we'd continue, if it hadn't grabbed him by 2-3 chapters in then we'd move on. That was unusual though.
It led to some very good discussions about past values and racism/sexism and that sort of thing.
His favourites were: Lone Pine Series, Cue for Treason, and a very long Alex Rider (and very well written too) Fan Fiction. The latter is about 400k words and eventually I downloaded it for him and he rereads it quite often.