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 ?

Yes, I do feel reassured!

I think it is the quality time and absence of DD that really counts for DS, and we have a cuddle and a chat as well. I love it. Sometimes sneak in for the cuddle and chat bit after DH has read to him.

dd is 8. I read to her at bedtime for sometimes half an hour if we're at a good bit. I hope she'll want me to for years yet. We both enjoy it and it gives us a chance to chat about all sorts of things too, which are thrown up by the book.

I go in to school to help with the reading, and it really seems to be that it's far more important to read to your child than to have your child read to you.

It's not like breastfeeding; you're sharing a fantastic activity which will enhance the rest of his life in ways too numerous to contemplate. Would you stop going on picnics, or walks etc with him just because he can go on his own? Of course not. Why stop sharing books?

No I was joking about the breastfeeding! I meant, it's not something like breastfeeding which you really ought to be done with by the age of ten. In fact I think I said I wasn't seriuosly thinking about stopping, just wanted to explore what others found.

No, I don't anymore. I ran out of puff. I can still get the 8 y-o in to listen with the the 6 y-o - but ds1 who is 10 doesn't seem to care for The Naughtiest Girl in the School.

I wish I did in a way - I quite miss it. I go and sit on his bed to make chat and he sort of looks at me and smiles and says 'Night, then.' Not always, but often.

I have to offer back tickling in order to stay. I have offered to read on these staring and smiling and 'night, then' occasions but he says 'no, it's okay, thanks'.

And then if I say 'oh but I'd like to' he sighs and leans back and polishes his glasses and says

'Oh well if YOU want to' and gives me a patient smile.

I find it much more interesting reading chapter books to older children than picture books to toddlers - I used to get very bored of that.

We don't read to them every day but even DP has been enjoying reading to the dds lately, I think he's discovering a lot of children's books he didn't know about (DP didn't read as a child). And I am enjoying discovering new children's literature, as well as re-discovering my old favourites.

And THEN last night he was sitting on his bed looking at me while I was burbling away picking up clothes and fascinating him with my anecdotes of the day.

And he said 'um, I'd like to get changed now' and I said 'go on then' and he LOOKED at me.

And I said 'oh right, sorry' and limped out his room.

OMG. I might need to do my own thread rather than hijacking yours with my 10 y-o ds traumas.

It's ok 100x, you can have it! Mine asked me not to kiss him goodbye at the school gate.

YES I DO
he loves it

altho my SIL ho prefect in every way makes her dis share a story
she only had two fgs

bedtime takes 1.5 hours here

Bedtime takes an hour - that's with one. Fifteen faffing, undressing, half hour story, fifteen chatting, lightsoffing.

Our bedtime takes 30-40 mins if DH is here but more if he is not, maybe 40-50 mins on my own. But that includes:

both children having a bath
DD choosing her clothes for morning
me checking DS has clean uniform
DS packing his football/swimming bag
Teeth for both children
Excema cream for DD
Reading to DD
DS's reading book
Reading to DS
Cuddle and kisses

I sometimes read to dd who is 11. But she can read like an adult now anyway

I read to ds who will be 8 soon 5/7 nights

I read to dd (11) and ds(7) together, though lately dh has been taking over as I have a bad chest infection and can only speak in very short sentences. I hear mad fits of laughter coming from dd's bedroom between 8 and 8.30, so I know it's either Jennings or Just William.

My Dad read to the whole family until we were well into our teens: the result is that as adults we have a common fund of shared stories and family joke arising from them.

In Victorian times middle-class adults used to read aloud to each other, not because they were illiterate, but because they enjoyed communal activities.

I'll carry on reading as long as I'm allowed. Having tortured myself night after night with Thomas the Tank Engine, I'm not going to give up now when we're getting to the interesting stuff.

My ds does like stuff that I wouldn't expect him to - for example he DOES like the Naughtiest Girl (though I can't see him bringing it in to school as a reading book) and lots of old-fashioned stuff like Jennings. He used to like My Naughty Little Sister too.

I still read to my 12 year old and my 10 year old.
It's so lovely to snuggle up and get stuck in to a book together.

If my dd is ill she still likes to be read to (she's 14!)

My ds is still young but I hope he still wants reading to at this age. I remember my mum used to read me a chapter when I was in the bath and then I would read a chapter to her when she was in the bath ... she used to pick the classics like Little Women and I read Enid Blyton and Nancy Drew etc on my own time.

DS1 is 10 and I haven't read to him for years. He's an avid reader and reads very fast, and I think he'd find it frustrating tbh.

We read many of the same books, so we do spend a lot of time chatting about books. But I don't read to him.

I sometimes read a bit to ds2, but just to encourage him a bit. He's happier reading on his own.

yes i do