Are there ever any evenings when you don't read to your children at bedtime?

[emkana]

That's it really.

I think we should only not read to them when it's very very late and they need to go to bed quick.
Dh would make exceptions more often if I let him.

DS is 2.2 & has two stories usually read by me. It's one of my favourite times of the day with him and I wouldn;t miss it for anything but a special occasion.

He also has 1-2 stories before his nap.

I love reading although the same Thomas story every night for a week does grate a bit.

I'm hopeless at playing trains though.

I have never read to any of mine................am I a bad mum??
all 3 of them are still fantastic sleepers, I get 12 hours straight out of all of them.

we read most nights, but not all. If it's late and/or he is too shattered, we don't.
i'm (almost)10wks pg at moment, so starting a new routine in our house of reading in the morning in mummy's bed! (usually with toast and apple juice tea(my son's invention))

I did go through a phase of stressing if he didn't get a story we'd failed him, but sometimes a cuddle and a giggle about whatever has shattered him out is better for us all.

FrayedKnot, I hate Thomas the bleeding Tank Engine. ds is 2.3 and sometimes I have to read the same story 3 times in a row. Through gritted teeth.

i hate TTTE too. I bought a book of bedtime stories (mixture of trad and modern) it's brill. No bloody fat controllers and engines in disgrace.

Ds picks 3 stories, or 2 if he has messed about getting ready for bed. We read them to him, then he gets into bed and dh makes up a story about a penguin called Freddie, which is a winding down review of the day and preview of tomorrow story.

On Sundays we go to PIL for tea and get back around 10 minutes before bedtime, so the bath and the stories are abandoned, but he still gets Freddie.

Used to read to ds (8.5yo) every night but he hasn't wanted me to the last 2 months so no
Don't read to 2.5yo dd except in the day time so weekends and after work.

I skip loads of TTTE. According to dsis I should be able to get away with it until DS is at least 4.

I managed a Wibbly Pig and a Percy teh Park Keeper tonight. Result!

read every night-apart from when she stays up late to watch Doctor Who!

I read most nights, although not if we're late getting to bed as I think sleep is more important. We still read during the day as well, depending on what we're doing.
Actually, I absolutely love reading and yet my parents never read to me.
Morningpaper- I love the daddy's ipod tactic- my 5yr old would absolutely love that!
Spinamum- congrats on the pregnancy!

Don't like TTTE (although DS1 does) but am quite fond of Kipper.

DS1 has two stories with DH and I often read him a third after I've fed DS2. He's been read to since he was about five months old! He tells us which ones he'd like now and often chooses the books before his bath (don't I sound like a routine hound when nothing could be further from the truth?!).

no story??

We have to have a story.

Oh didn't answer the question. No, he always has a story - and when DS2 can stay awake till the end of his feed, he can snuggle in and listen too! Don't understand houses without books.

Yup, every night. Helps to settle them.
Sorry, quick hijack - Morningpaper, have you found any good sites to download children's stories for the ipod? We have an 8 hr plane trip coming up and I was thinking of doing some for dd's.

God yes !
I actually think reading to your little ones is really important, for all sorts of reasons, but it doesn't have to be at bedtime. In fact ds3 (2y + 5m) is usually really shattered at bedtime (he doesn't nap in the day because he's up half the night if he does) so needs to go straight to sleep after a cuddle and a quick recap of the day.
He gets read to lots during the day, usually at his own instigation but sometimes at mine: "Mummy read me dis book please" etc.

started reading (or looking at books) with dd before bed at about 3mths, she's now 9mths and loves to look at them... already has her favorite ones and has even started to turn the pages and lift the flaps etc!

can't wait to read to her properly, have a selection of my old favorite books waiting on the bookshelf.

definately think it should be part of the bed time routine...to give us mums a chance to sit down for 5 mins!!

I often send DH on story duty. There is only so much Cinder-bleeding-ella a grown woman can take.

We wouldn'tget the kids to bed without stories - would be tantrums all round! Dd has 2 book stories, then a story about the day and what she's done, and then ds has between 1 and 4(!) stories while he has supper. They would both really go nuts if they missed out on these!

Gingerbear - I SO know how you feel - if I have to read Sleeping Beauty, Snow White or Jack and the Beanstalk once more.....

The only time I don't read a story is if DH or a grandparent or godmother etc has the honour instead or if she falls asleep in the car and I carry her to bed already asleep. If not she gets 2 stories from me, possible a song and some hair, hand or tummy stroking and lots of kisses. By this time she's usually asleep.
I love reading to her and put on voices etc.
I've recently started reading her longer more grown up stories and have been known to carry on to the end even though she's fallen asleep!

my sil bought us the complete set of TTTE it's unbearable. The only thing that's worse is the brum books. they truly truly are fit only for burning (and there's not many books I say that of, in fact thinking about it I might start a campaign to get Amazon to withdraw all Brum books, they are dangerous to the mental health of parents)

tortoiseshell, I think we both need a trip to the library.

Thanks for the warning, TWWTSWAH