Do you take your children to the local library?

[Legacy]

We go most Wednesdays, and I'm always amazed by how few parents and children there seem to be there.

Libraries are such a fantastic FREE resource, I often wonder what it is that stops parents from going?
Is it

• habit (i.e. were never taken as a child)
• convenience
• location

??

I just love it, 'cos the children feel that they aere 'getting something new' each week without me having to pay for it, it's obviously good for their reading/ education, and you don't end up with trillions of books all over the house. (We still buy books, but more often it's after first finding a type/ author through the library).

Anyway, if you want to get into the habit, I picked up a leaflet about a summer reading challenge kicking off all over the country from next weekend for the summer holidays - it's called The Big Wild Read, and kids can register for it, aim to read 6 books over the summer hols, and then get some goodies/ prizes etc.

More info here: The Big Wild Read

meant to say, ds had a library card from being 9 months old!!

Ours is always very busy, and we go regularly but I do pay a small fortune in library fines.

Yes I know it is a treat Legacy

I have taken DD now im not working.
Its a great trip out for her and we get to choose books

lisa

o, yes buy books from there as well, my parents bought lots of books for us but we always had to be careful with them (not read in bed....), with these cheap sec-hand books they can at least read them anywhere they want

One of my favourite aspects of our house is that it's a 2 min walk (5 with the kids) to our local library. Kids don't pay fines which is very fortunate but adults do so I quite often have to get my purse out.

Libraries are fab, fab, fab!

I went back to the library a few weeks ago after a period of forced estrangement (hence namechange though it was dh who lost the damn books) - it was fab!

Ds now has his own ticket and we've borrowed a few board books. We've been to free storytelling and rhyme sessions with tea/coffee and a change to chat with other mums (the closest I've got to a parent & baby group) and the children's room has a massive carpet so ds can practice crawling to his heart's content with way more space than at home while I read the paper.

We also met a fantastic old lady last week who regaled me with tales of her colourful past for about 45 minutes, correctly guessed my star sign and predicted that ds would be famous. Ah, your local public library. All life is there.

yep!! We go lots. Although they may not want us back as our dog has eaten the "hamster" book we got out. They also ate the " dog obedience" book a few years ago- luckily they saw the funny side of that!......

we go sometimes to use the computers and read the books in there but i hardly ever let them take them home now having racked up massive fines in the past that I've still not paid as never take cash to the library and always forget. tbh i could have just bought loads of books at car boots/fairs the amount of fines we've run up. i'm just not organised enough for libraries these days

we go, but not every week. i'm always late with the books and have to pay a fine, even though you can ring and renew them. the fine for kids is measly though and they will normally let me take out the grown up books on ds's card - so i do ok really. think i'll go this week - thanks for the reminder!

We go to choose books every week after school and also once a week to rhyme time for the baby.

Libraries here are closed on my day off (Wednesday), but I'd stopped going anyway as it was such a stress trying to find the damn books so that I could return them. I hardly ever borrowed them for myself anyway as I don't like reading hardbacks and ds's library books would just disappear into the piles and piles of his own books.

I might start going back when ds is a bit older and reading by himself, but he has plenty of books atm anyway as I have a bit of a book problem for myself and also buy far too many for him (he must have about 200 now).

Haven't been for ages although the upcoming holidays and lack of other activities should get us back there ! I do tend to buy books as I have a bit of an addiction rather than think of the library so must change habits.

We don't have to pay fines on children's tickets either which is good.

I go a few times a month with dd (now 12 months) She got her library card at 5 months! She can now choose books and anything with flaps is currently a winner. As a child I was regularly taken to the library and grew up as a keen reader....hopefully this will have the same effect on dd. I work 4 days a week, so try and go on on my day off with her....most lib=raries are open to at least 7pm on one night a week, so even if you work you can usually go (depends on your hours, I know)

Get yourselves down there and renew online/by phone if needs be. Theres no excuse....

yes, every week, sometimes twice. the library is in town so we do the fruit and veg shop, then go to the library.

We haven't been as much lately as one of the other of them has been ill! It's great here as although it's fairly small there's a lovely children's section and it's in the same building as the doctors and community services building (hv etc) so there are toilets.

yes, I do

No. My children just aren't quiet enough for the local librarians. We'll go during the summer though when the book trai is on (loads of kids = loads of noise), but actually trips to the library aren't fun when everyone is glaring at you all the time. So I go by myself and choose a couple of boos for the dcs as well.

I would have been loss with out my local library when dd was little went most weeks. saves so much money when you don't have to pay for them. Stopped for a bit when she started school as she got a school book for me to read every night. Now she is a freereader and becoming a real book worm we have started using the library again. The BIG WILD READ sounds great the only thing is dd will probably read all six with in the first week of the hoildays.
For children over 6 book tracker is great too. DD stared just after her 6th birth (want to be like her older school friends) that was early May, shes now just coming up to her 50 badge. They have to read 100 in total and there is no time limit.

Library is next to preschool so I go in several times a week, but rarely with any DC. Youngest runs amok, older ones demand DVDs. Too annoying. Eldest child's reading came on leaps and bounds when we started getting lib books for him to read.

I bring home heaps of books they all avidly devour. Try to not own too many books but borrow instead; Usually have about 15 children's library books at home, at any one time.

yes - am about to pay about £20 in fines though so not really with you on the whole 'free' thing.

We will be blacklisted soon - specialise in going in, taking out 10 brand-new children's books and losing 3 of them, tearing 2 etc.

I remember seeing some v posh woman on the much-missed (by me only , obv) Life Laundry who had some massive sob-story about how her parents could never afford books when she was a kid so she was always starved for them. No mention of libraries.

choosy - do you have to cough up for the lost books?

NEVER

INF CT WE AHVEA 3 MILE EXCLUSION ZONE AREOUND IT
YOU WILL WATCH JEREMY KYLE ALL DAY A DN DRINK BLUE POP

Yes, in theory, and yes as I insist on doing so. If I tried they would almost certainly let me off but I feel too guilty. However, they frequently turn up later so if i have paid I hang on to them subsequently. Hope that's not bad.

Makes things worse as the house is full of books with library covers, some bought in library sale, some lost and paid for and some current and need to be taken back. Impossible.