Do you read your own books in front of DC?

[MildLifeCrisis]

We are doing our best to raise DD as a reader, she has a lot of books and we have been reading to her daily since she was a few months old. I have read somewhere that the best way to raise a kid as a reader is to lead by example and that children that have parents who read in front of them are more likely to be into books later in life. Issue is that when we are with DD, we are usually engaged in activities with her. I realised in all these years of parenting I have almost never had the chance to sit on the sofa in the same room and read my book whilst she is busy playing or watching TV. I find she requires constant attention and involvement from our end (we both work FT so when we are together we feel that we should really give her our full focus).

Does this make me (us) weird or is anyone else in the same boat? Do you ever sit down to read your own books during the day when DCs are not in bed yet?

Yes. Companiable reading in silence together is one of my absolute favorite things. Sometimes we have movie night, sometimes book club, sometimes cards.
I don't believe in entertaining mine when we're together. Sometimes we do joint activities, sometimes I just want to sit quietly and read. The sooner mine learned to entertain themselves when necessary the better...

I don't really because my children are 4 and 2, and need quite a lot of attention. But they know we read because there are bookshelves full of books all over the house, and our books-in-progress on the coffee table etc.

Yes, all the time.

Always read in front of my kids.

To those who do, when do you find time to do so? She always wants us to be engaged with her even when watching cartoons for example. Sometimes I will use a cartoon as a time to make meals or to bits around the house but will admit never to actually lie fown and read a book when she is around

How old is she? Mine is 7 and plays by herself in the room or reads at the same time as I do. Both of us like to read whilst we're eating.

I'd agree that I tended to be engaged with the kids not reading my own books in front of them. But we read books constantly when they were little, they'd see my books on shelves and by my bed, and I talked about my favourite kids and adult books, and we shared books at bedtime for WAY longer than most families, including reading adult books together at secondary school age. Now they're all teens I'm trying to let them see me reading rather than always on my phone eg sitting on the sofa or even when travelling by train for example.

We always read her books together, have done so since she was a baby. And we have books around the house, on side table etc and sometimes she asks “what is this about etc”. But I never actually sit down to read my own books when she is around.

DD is 5.

She is 5

I’ve always read in front of my DC. Maybe start off with getting them to have some quiet time looking at or reading a book while you read a chapter of your book - it might take a bit of perseverance if they are used to your attention but hopefully it will be become part of daily or weekend life.

I had a bit of a realisation a few years ago. DD was always a voracious reader, up until about 14. At which point she stopped dead. At the time she said it was because she had too much school work on, and that they spent so much time picking apart books in English Lit, that it had killed her love of reading.

I thought fair enough, I'd actually done something similar at that age, and stopped reading books, preferring computer and sci fi magazines, newspapers etc. Something short, I could pick up and put down easily. I didn't start reading books again until after university. Of course DD didn't do that, she just replaced reading time with sitting on her phone.

So a couple of years later, I was whinging at DD (now 16) about her phone use. To which DD pointed out that I was on my phone just as much as her. Which is true, except I read books on my phone. I generally read at every opportunity I get. On lunch at work, sat on the loo, when I'm sat waiting for someone to join a teams call, while I'm waiting for the rice to boil. And I can't be arsed to carry a book around constantly when I've always got my phone in my pocket. So all my books live on my phone. So while I was actually reading, as far as DD knew I was sat on Reddit, or Mumsnet, or playing Candy Crush or whatever.

We compared our app usage at the time, so she saw that my screen time was actually mostly reading books, whereas hers was fecking TikTok, but I decided I was going to try and model reading anyway. So while I do still read on my phone, I've also got a "house book" on the go at any point, that is made of actual paper, that sits in the living room. And if DD is around, then that's generally what I read.

It may be a coincidence, and it took a while, but over the last year DD has tentatively got back into reading, and now will occasionally sit in the lounge with me, both with our nose in a book.

My eldest and I like to get on the sofa and read or get into bed and read next to each other like an old married couple. We have been doing this since she was little.
Her younger sister does not sit down and read... she does not enjoy reading.

I always read to my DC from birth. In the school holidays we used to have a reading half hour after lunch when we all sat and read our own books. Visiting children were told to bring their current book. The DC always saw me reading, whenever I had an odd few minutes.

No, I am the same as you. I am focused on the dcs when they're awake, and often during the day we're out doing activities or walking around, so it's not practical to be reading. I like to read when they're in bed and I can read without distractions. It would annoy me to be interrupted.

But I am a bit skeptical about that claim anyway as my parents aren't readers at all (and not very literate and never read to me when I was a child) but it hasn't affected my reading. My eldest is a bookworm although she never sees me read, my youngest is too young but she enjoys looking at books alone. If your personality fits being a reader then it'll emerge whatever you see around you.

Yes had a book in my hand from the day they were born. I'd breast feed with a book in my hand. Have a house full of books. I think reading is important and having that quiet time where you are both reading a book is great.

Have my kindle on me all the time, regularly read in front of the kids, especially on holiday, have definitely raised my boys to be ‘readers’ which I am v happy about!!

To those saying you sit next to each other and read separate books together: assume you have older DC? DD is in reception and is only just learning to read so I can’t sit with my own book and leave her alone with her own book to read, she’d only look at the pictures! I do, as I said above, read tons of books to her but I am talking about my own books in this instance

I read in front of my children a lot, just been sat on the sofa with DS just now, me reading, him fiddling with a rubik's cube, occasionally talking to each other.

Yes - but probably more now they are reading well themselves (so from age 6ish). They are massive book worms. We will all happily sit and read for a good few hours if circumstances permit!

She is still quite young so I wouldn't fret tbh right now. Make sure you talk about books you read, read newspapers or magazines which have short formats and don't require a lot of time, in front of her.

But, you are doing great. It gets easier tp read your own stuff in a few years when they become more independent.

Absolutely important to see you modelling reading - books/magazines/newspapers - rather than just a phone. DD is now 7, and I remember a train journey when she was 6 when we both sat for an hour reading our books side-by-side. Made me so happy!

Sometimes I would read while they drew or played with Brio or Lego, or had their colouring books out. Or they'd look through picture books while I read my book and called it Playing Library.

Mine are now adults, but I always read my own books when they were around playing by themselves.
I read to all of them from a few months old [ four boys ] and only one is an avid reader like me. The other three don't bother.

I think she’s too young at 5 to be able to sit and read with you, as she’s still learning to read. At that age, I wouldn’t read while looking after DD, but at weekends I’d often have an hour upstairs with a cup of tea and a book while DH was the ‘on duty’ parent (and vice versa), so DD was aware that reading was something we did. I’d take her to the library most weekends and get books for me as well as books for her, so she knew that reading was something we did. We also have a few bookshelves in the house so she had books around her.

DD is ten now, and reads a lot, but she did go off reading at around age 6 or 7 once she had learned to read. I found that quite hard as someone who loves reading, but she got back into it via comics and graphic novels.

I didn't manage when she was five, but was able to introduce it when she was 6. To be honest at first it would only be 10 minute bursts but it illustrated the principal. She's nearly 8 now and we can read together for a good hour, 90 minutes. A top tip is to carry your book/Kindle everywhere you take your phone –you'll find you have more little bursts of time than you think, and it's a great model for DD.