To worry I’ve destroyed my child’s love of reading

[1jan2020]

My toddler (aged 2.5) used to love reading books together, but ever since he’s started watching TV he’s just not that interested, to the point where he’ll push away books and ask for TV or other toys. He’s engaged in plenty of other activities, like going to the park, art and crafts, Duplo, playdough, playing with his other toys like trains, cars, water table and diggers - but not reading. I’m concerned I’ve destroyed his love of books by introducing screens - I hate to say it but I can see why watching a screen would be far more interesting/stimulating than a book. What can I do?

Early phonics books are good for the age as they have big pictures and are a nice size to read.

I have a 2.5 year old. He loves:

The Storm Whale (and The Storm Whale in Winter) by Benji Davies - these are such sweet books I'd recommend them to anyone.
Mrs Armitage books by Quentin Blake
Still loves simple board books - the Julia Donaldson acorn wood ones. Also choo choo clickety clack.
Bear hunt

My eldest suddenly got into Tabby Mctat and Zog etc around 2.5, so keep trying. (Also helped that I learned how to make a banana into a gruffalo...)

At 2.5yo my DCs favourites were Dinosaur Roar, the Meg and Mog series, The Gruffalo, all the Peppa Pig books <yawn>, Calm Down Boris, and the Spot series.

Thanks for the suggestions! Is it time to ditch the “peekaboo” type books now do you think?

Julia Donaldsons Gruffalo and Zog were popular at about that age, maybe a few months older. There's a series of "10 Little..." books that she adored - dinosaurs, robots, aliens. The "Never Touch A..." (dragon, dinosaur, shark) were still fun. There's also "There's a ... in my book" - we found monster was the most fun but there's also dragon and I think another couple have come out. Last suggestion would be "Oi Frog!"

No, don't ditch anything, just introduce lots of new books.

My kids didn't give away their baby books until much older - and it was their choice to send them to the charity shop.

You are too worried about this - do not try to control too much, just encourage loads of books of all types into the house.

We would go to the library and let them choose the books they wanted. Then read them every day at bedtime and during the day if they felt like it. We would also read stories to them out loud. Myths and such. And often they’d see us reading as well. Even my severely dyslexic DC enjoyed reading although from child to teen they preferred graphic novels to text novels. Which is ok, lots of classics have been made as graphic novels and some classics are only in graphic form.

Don’t ditch books your child likes! Add in more as a range but if your kid likes them- they’re enjoying a book and that is great. Mine still enjoyed ‘baby’ board books til the age of 7, we just kept them until she no longer liked them. She struggles with reading and enjoyed engaging with more than just the words, as well as having easy & familiar words that were more rewarding than they were difficult.

I think the You Choose books might be worth trying. I would though go to the library and see what he enjoys.

DD was small when surestart was still a thing.
During the week we would do:

Toddler class every morning,

Shops & Park on the way home.

Morning nap

Lunch and playing

Reading time - I'd make myself a tea and DD a warm milk with a couple of rich tea biscuits. We would read to ourselves for 10 mins (DD big hard picture books) then DD would sit on the sofa to have her warm drink, biscuits and stories. I would read to her and then she would tell me a story from the pictures.

14:00 40 minute Barney dvd (so I could doze and catch up with sleep with DD next to me)

Cbeebies bedtime hour.

We never had the TV on as background noise, although we did have the radio or audio books on. TV was for sitting down, or interacting with not just on as they are designed to be addictive and grab children's attention.

Unfortunately despite being an amazing reader at a very early age she barely touches books now, far too many distractions. She also struggled to get in to reading again after reading the first Harry Potter books at around 7 and couldn't find others to match the excitement of those.

Don't stress about it too much, if forced reading of insanely boring books when they start school doesn't destroy a love of reading then GCSE English will so I'm wondering why I bothered encouraging them to love it at all!

Yes, I'd forgotten the '10 Little...' books. DCs loved those too!
The "That's Not My..." series were still very popular at 2.5 too IIRC.

We find rotating books really helps. We have book boxes in the living room and kitchen with 5-10 books in each, and all of the out of rotation ones are kept in the study. She is sooo much more interested when they've recently been changed.

Library she just runs around pulling books off shelves 😩

Mine watches loads of TV too btw, but still reads plenty of books 🙂

My dd will be 3 next month and she goes through phases of reading her books by herself/asking us to read with her and not even glancing at her bookshelf! Just the same as she goes through phases of playing with certain toys. I don't let it worry me as when she does watch tv, we talk a lot about what we're watching and play games, and always have a story before bed.

Today her and DH read about 6 "that's not my..." books to dd2, yesterday she didn't touch a book until bedtime. At their age I don't think it's too much of a terrible thing

@barneymcgroo

Please tell me how to make a banana into a gruffalo!

Mine is nearly 2 and loves reading but also enjoys TV. We allow a bit in the morning (as I am NOT a morning person and need at least half an hour to wake up) and then it goes off until about 4.30 when I need a break after a full on day of toddler activity!
But reading, he has a magazine rack full of his books and frequently pulls them out. I rotate the choices too, partly for my own sanity! At the moment he loves:
The Tiger who Came to Tea
All the Animals were sleeping
When A dragon comes to Stay/Goes to School
Night Night Truck
Dig Dig Digging
10 Minutes to Bed
A Thing Called Snow
Owl Babies
Wherever You Go, I go
ABC See Touch Feel

Sometimes if I want him to chill out, I'll pull a book out and start reading aloud and he won't be able to resist coming over to read too!

I have a 2y2m old, we watch TV but only after breakfast and only 2 episodes max, never live only on iPlayer, then TV is off for the rest of the day.

We go to the library every 3w and get about 6 books out at a time - the toddler's choice of books! Since just before turning 2yo their choice of books has begun moving away from board books to picture books.

Rhyming books and repetitive phrases are great, my little one loves joining in, especially after hearing each book a couple of times! Especially love Nick Sharratt books in our house atm "Shark in the Park" e.g. but also "You Choose".

At home we have a range of board books, lift the flap, peekaboo type books as well as picture books which are all as loved as each other. They are stored on accessible shelves in the dining room, some in a children's wheelbarrow in the living room, on a child bookshelf upstairs and in a box with a cosy cushion and blanket on the landing. Little one takes books to the bathroom for nappy changes and sitting on the potty too (no encouragement or suggestion from us to do this, totally independent)!

Both my DH and I read a lot too and the toddler always brings me "Mummy's stories" (my kindle, library paperback or the neighborhood magazine) and loves looking through my reading material too (including my sudoku books).

It sounds like we must read all the time 🤣🙈 we don't, but it's always an available option whenever toddler chooses. Don't force it, take the pressure off and just have books available. The enjoyment of books will come back!

Goodnight Digger

story at bedtime always good :) I stopped doing this for a bit with my daughter but now she is in a proper bed we are doing it again and it’s lovely. We love the Julia Donaldson books, but yes some are quite long.

About 2.5 is when mine started to love Toddle Waddle, Zog, Mog the Cat, Acorn Woods, Hungry Caterpillar, Funnybones, Whatever Next.. Can't remember what else but we have, quite literally, hundreds of books because he never wants to give any to the charity shop (he's 6 in January) Now he's been able to read a bit more himself he's going back to some of those baby books that are repetitive, like That's not my... as well as wanting me to read chapter books. We have always just had books around, trips to the library or a local second hand shop that has a whole floor of books. He loves building dens and filling them with stories to read, and for a long time he'd have us read to him while we were having lunch. I'd try mixing it up a bit and just grab a book to read randomly and make it exciting; do the voices, look for funny things in the pictures, get books that have repetitions in that they can learn to join in.

Watching CBeebies bedtime stories introduced us to loads of new stories which we subsequently asked for as Christmas and Birthday presents.

Don't worry OP, you definitely haven't put him off reading - he just needs to be reminded that books are great too!

(forgot to add, he also LOVES watching TV and probably watches too much - every morning with breakfast but nothing usually after school, except Bake Off and we watch strictly in bursts over the weekend!) Still loves his books

@GAH3 I'll try and do it for you tomorrow and post a picture. I can also do a racing car banana. (I also have real life skills, unfortunately my children don't appreciate them nearly as much as my useless fruit based ones... 😁)

My 2 years 3months DS is loving Gruffalo, room on the broom, snail and the whale. Anything with whales, sharks, tigers, cats. lots of the Little people big dreams books, Frida Kahlo is a fav at the moment. He even 'reads' some pages out loud himself as we've read them sooooo many times.

he'll definitely transition now away from those soon, in my experience.

mog/tabby mctatt etc were too long for my daughter at first. We just sat looking at pictures and discussing the pages at first. Then she got an ear for the rhyme and recognised the characters etc. As she got more familiar, they'd hold her attention more.

Sometimes, she'll pull out a flap book that she's not seen in a few months and we'll take a quick look. But she loves sitting in bed together while I read a longer story now she's getting closer to 3 yo.

+1 on library. Mine won't choose books, I grab 3-4 that look interesting.

The Works do some great books 10 for £10. I find they're a perfect length for this age.

The tiger who came to tea and lots of the Janet and Alan Ahlberg books were hits at that age.

Yes to You Choose.

Guess how much I love you

Mick Inkpen

Rhyming books even if we just read parts of them. Helen and Thomas Docherty books are lovely and beautifully illustrated. The Snatchabook and the Knight who Wouldn't Fight are favourites.

We always do a book advent calendar at Christmas. Every day ok December they unwrap a winter themed or Christmassy book. Most gathered over the years from charity shops. After Christmas, they are gathered up and put away until next year and rewrapped for the book advent calendar! Kids love it!