I know I should be a nice middle class parent and enjoy listening to my dd read to me, but...

[Enid]

it has become a flash point at the end of the day.

She has a reading book every day from school (she is 6, in year 1), she is supposed to read it to me and I listen and write comments in her reading book.

The last few weeks have been a real struggle for me as far as her reading goes - obviously I am knackered with small baby and 3 year old, BUT

a) she has started to hate reading and fusses and moans whenever we have to sit and do it
b) she just stares out of the window if she doesnt know a word, then if I tell her what it is she throws a fit
c)she reads REALLY SLOWLY and it took us 50 mins to read 16 pages this evening
d) she reads in a baby lispy voice that drives me mad and I just can't keep my mouth shut about it

I know I should be calmer and more positive but my comment in her reading book tonight was 'Like pulling teeth'.

How on earth can we get back on track with this?

I sit DS and DD down with a drink and a snack all comfy on the sofa and have it as a sort of treat time. If it looks like DD will be disruptive or DS isn't in the mood, I shamelessly produce bits of chocolate to nibble while reading.

I wouldn't expect a child in my class to finish a ginn stage 7 book in 1 night Enid so think you are trying to do too much.

1. go to the pub
2. bribe her- read at breakfast and then if she does it well, draw a little smile face on index finger .. she can show off about it at school
3. Take a sabbatical from reading at home for a while. go to the library and choose something she does want to read. she will still be reading at school.

you can flog this to death at great personal expense now or chill about it and she will still be at the same point this time next year. she's obviously bright9 she has a Mner for a mother after all) and not reading for a bit at home won't cause her any problems. She will find her enthusaism for it again soon and suddenly become a voracious reader. Then you'll be posting about her never going outside or something like that.

will read properly later thank you

but this struck me as particularly excellent:

'draw a little smile face on index finger .. she can show off about it at school '

I skive off reading practice

It is quite unutterably boring - I do it when I can face it (ie very occasionally) and simper at the teacher. Which is better than DP who never does it.

Reading highly overestimated as life skill, IMO. It only leads to dossing around perusing novels instead of earning large amounts of money to support aged parents.

yes! good point

mooning around reading novels never buttered any parsnips

And 'soft' girlish degrees of unutterable fluffiness as opposed to Butch Manly Fact Based Ones.

DD and I sit and do it, and up 'til now, it's been quick and painless. Never realised until this thread how grateful I should be....not sure I could abide an extended session with "Red Ted" who is the subject of her current reading series.

Ours is relatively bearable but it does somewhat lack narrative drive or tension, I find. DD1 is currently reading something about a sodding dinosaur called Furball.

Staggered by the criticism of Biff and Chip and Kipper on here. Now that I've got used to their ridiculous names (why can't they be called something normal?) I love 'em. Can't wait for their next key adventure.

MI - I'd complain to the school! Who ever heard of a dinosaur with fur???

So sad when children get put off reading. Seems six is often a reluctant age - just before they get fluent. I found a bit of "cheating" went down well with my older 2 - read one page each, or sometimes you read the book to her, but talk about it too. A good teacher will understand why you are doing this - but you don't have to tell them!

MI and Enid rofl at mooning around and fluffy degrees.

we hve sodding dinosaur called thunder

I DONT CARE WHAT IT EATS

caligula its to be non class gender orwhatever ithink the names Biff is elizabeth apprentl( see threads passim)

lol T " buttering pasnips"

"Reading highly overestimated as life skill, IMO. It only leads to dossing around perusing novels instead of earning large amounts of money to support aged parents."

MI, you do make me titter.

Enid - I have some of the first readers from M & S you can borrow if you like - Beauty & The Beast & Snow-White etc. I am happy to send them to you.

I go with the breakfast reading. ds1 does all of his homework (ok not much of it as he's only in reception but...) at the b'fast table waiting for his porridge to cook. Handwriting, reading etc. He's just too tired and full up of school at the end of the school day so we dont bother with it. Can't dh oversee that, afterall he doesnt have to be away v early in the morning!

cod, biff is barbara actually.
Nice use of "passim" tho.

Instead of getting stressed out, you could try what DH used to do when DS1 was in Reception and at a painfully slow stage, and just fall asleep .
Other posters have given some really good advice, I think, only I don't follow it myself. DS2 is going through a bit of a reluctant reading phase too and I usually use the "I'll just write in your reading record that you didn't want to read tonight", at which point he usually capitulates.

breakfsast reading impossible atm

dh does all cooking, dressing, lunches

he will leave home if I suggest reading too

Enid.. a fascinating fact..if you draw a smiley(felt tip) on the finger and then let them press index fingers together so that they "kiss" you get a smiley on both fingers.
I used to do this a lot until a mother virtually accused me of child abuse for it..( she probably started a whole thread about it on mn) and no it wasn't an indelible marker but an ordinary felt tip. Don't do it very much now but even my 7 year old hard boys think it's great.
think the easiest solution with the wretched reading is to tell the teazcher she hates the Ginn give us the ORT now. Try weeping on her if she's really hard faced about it.

robinpud - are you a teacher too?

I sometimes stamp childrens hands with a smily face stamp I've got, the chilodren love it - but believe it or not I haven't had any complaints yet! I keep expecting it though.

panicpants- i used to stamp hands as well as so often kids lose the sticker before they get home. At least with the stamp parents can see they have done something good. However same parent who complained about smiley fingers wrote extremely stroppy letter re stamp on hand. So now I don't do it as her poor kids always want it and I have to say I am afraid your mum says no. She is a witch by the way.
sorry enid for a little digression