Do you still read aloud to your ten-year-old?

[No19]

Not sure if this is right spot. I read to my ten-year-old but from talking to other school mums I find that they don't. My 10yo does read independently as well but still loves me reading stories.

Am I babying him ?

I still read to my girls aged 10 and 8. Sometimes together - we pick a book and read the whole thing over time - sometimes seperately, if they want me to read a chapter of their current book. I like it too, it's a great way to end the day.

Don't have time every day though.

I still read to my dds (10 & 8) every night and they love it. If, for any reason, I can't read one night, they complain!

I see it as a means of sharing stories that I used to enjoy as a child and also a way of introducing them to stuff that they would not necessarily choose for themselves. Sorry if it seems like I have an ulterior motive, but, combined with the sheer joy of re-visiting all those old favourites from my past, I think you can't beat it!

So, to answer your question, no I definitely wouldn't regard it as babying him. Make the most of it. I expect he will eventually tell you when he no longer wants to be read to.

Ds, aged 9, loves me to read him stories, and he is an avid reader himself.

At the moment I am reading him Just William, which lends itself very well to being read aloud by an adult (we big people can make the convoluted sentences flow properly).

I wish someone would read aloud to me!

I stopped reading to ds regularly when he was about 6 (he started reading before he went to school), except that on Sunday nights up till he was about 10 I'd sit & read to him while he was in the bath.

OK so some of you are still doing it too. My ds makes a clear distinction between books he is reading alone & books we are reading together, they cannot be swapped over. He won't read ahead in "our" book and he regards it as a waste of reading time for me to read him "his" book. He's a very good reader but I feel he chooses "his" books at a somewhat lower level than he would if they were the only stories he was getting. If that makes sense. He would listen to me reading eg Harry Potter but would choose for himself eg Geronimo Stilton - though in terms of comprehension etc he could well manage HP alone. Sense?

I do enjoy it btw, am not looking for an out.

Oh, No19, that's just what my DS aged 10 is like about the books I read and the books he chooses for himself. He'll pick himself the thinnest book possible (and he is a good reader too); something like Astrosaurs, which I have a feeling is much too young. At the moment I'm reading 'The Invention of Hugo Cabret' which is brilliant, but he might not read it to himself.

I love children's books so I find reading to him a real pleasure. But maybe it does make him a bit lazy about his own reading; is that what you're thinking about your DS?

I don't think you're babying him, I suspect you're just sharing something you both enjoy. When me and DH are feeling especially friendly, we read to each other too!

I love the opportunity to read with my 9 year old (just) but we share the reading (a few pages each in turn)

I don't read to DSD cos am lazy lazy step-mummy

But I would if I was less lazy. Used to, have only stopped in the lasy year.

yes, but not as often as i'd like.... it's still a lovely thing to do.

and what's wrong with a bit of babying when you're 10? in many ways ds1 is still a baby (when he's not practising being a teenager)

I am happy to read to him - we both enjoy it, and it doesn't stop him reading to himself (it is our bedtime/bathtime ritual, also if he's feeling tired or is sick) but yes I suppose I do wonder if I am perhaps enabling him not to bother too much himself. Astrosaurs would be something he would pick too.

Having said that, I am sure that by the time he's 16 I won't still be reading to him. Plus we are a very booky house so there's plenty for him to choose from and he has grown up seeing people read all the time so ultimately it will all be fine, I know.

I sometimes read to DP if we're doing a long drive & I've got the LRB or similar with nice long articles!

Ds is rising nine and an avid independent reader, so, not often these days.
But whenever he asks I jump at the chance
We sometimes have a read-aloud book on the go separate from his own reading material

dd1 is nine at the end of the year

at the moment there would be an absolute OUTCRY if I stopped reading to her EVERY SINGLE NIGHT so I imagine I will still be doing it at 10

hadn't ever considered stopping tbh

will probably still be doing it when she is 18

No I don't mean I am really considering stopping, I think ds would be very hurt and confused! I mean it's not as if I'm bf-ing him or something and it Has To End. And I don't want to make his reading into any kind of issue, I'm delighted he reads and delighted he loves stories.

I was just wondering, I suppose, what others do and looking for reassurance!

Yes. Except that he's 11.

If I didn't read to him (or rather with him) he'd never read anything other than school books.

What time do your children go to bed? I don't read because by the time they are in bed I am too tired to read or still have too much clearing up to do so I can sit down before my bedtime.

Enjoy it while it lasts. My DS2 (age10) doesn't want me to read to him any more...but when he was away for a few days with his father he phoned up one evening and was obviously missing me a bit, so I suggested reading to him and he jumped at it.

Off I went to get the Top Gear book about 100 cars from the 70's or such. I described the photos, read out the vital figures, bhp, mph etc Tried to tone down the language too. He phoned up later for more!

It's such a joy to read to them, I'd read to the cat if he'd let me..

Ds1 was 11 last week and I still read to him most nights. These days, though, I tend to 'miss' a lot of the book as he reads on, independently, after I've left him. We are reading Terry Pratchett's "Truckers" atm - it's my first TP and I'm loving it even more than ds1 is, I think

I find it's often our only uninterrupted, quiet time - sometimes we don't read at all, ds1 will say "can we just have a talk instead?" Last week, the talk turned out to be his worries about secondary school. I think the "bedtime story" can just be a name for some quiet, quality time, one on one..without the distractions of ds2, TV, me cooking the dinner or shrieking like a fishwife about the mess...

I know it can't go on for ever but I'll do it as long as he wants me to

Good God no. But then I always found reading children's books the most mind-draining thing ever, though I did it. H still reads to dd2 (8) and dd1 (9) reads to me at night.

I do and he loves it.

I don't really enjoy it but it is more important that he is read to imo.

I don't as often as I'd like mind, once or twice a week.

I think it's important for children that they are read to.

As an adult I like listening to audio books.

Well it looks like you've got your reassurance! DS is 7 and I read to him alternate nights with DH doing the other night while I read to 3yo DD. Only DH is away so I am doing both. DS loves it. He has been getting very excited about DH's book which is an Enid Blyton "The Secret of Spiggy Hole".

We have a system whereby DH reads one book on his nights, I read another book on my nights, and DS has his own book on the go. And this is besides whatever reading book, paired reading book, football annual etc that is on the go.

DS3 is ten, and I still read to him every night, we're currently reading the latest Alex Rider book. We both enjoy it.

I only have a 2 year old but hope he'll still want me to read to him. My parents read some quite adult fiction to me up to the age of 10 - things like The 39 Steps and other detective thrillers, or classic children's fiction in their unabridged form, like Treasure Island, Moonfleet etc. The last time they ever read to me was when I was 12 and had measles - my mum read me Lord of the Rings. It was great as my eyes were infected and I couldn't read to myself.