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?

we Both get in my bed for 10-15 mins before I go downstairs and she gets in her own bed for sleep.

funny thing is I’ll be reading something Stephen king horrific and she obviously a different genre aged 9 😂

I used to read something light or trashy when DC were 5+ while they were playing with their toys.

No.

My DD is a huge bookworm (age 6) with a reading age a good 2 school years ahead of expected for her age (she’s almost a free reader and only in Y1). She reads all the time. I used to be a huge reader, but we don’t read together much. I use the time she is reading to do all the jobs! It’s absolutely great when she reads silently for 2hrs whilst I clean-I don’t feel guilty then for not engaging with her.

We buy books, we talk about books, we are always at the library so the house is full of books and we listen to Harry Potter and similar audiobooks together. But reading simultaneously is only on holidays.

I don’t think it is necessarily the only way to encourage reading. If they love it they do it regardless. It probably helps the ones that find it hard though.

Yes, though it does get easier as they get older. But I used to read when mine was a baby or take a book to the playground or beach as a toddler or on holiday.

It’s okay to say I’m busy reading now, you’ll have to play by yourself. Kids need to learn to tinker and be bored and explore independently. They won’t do that if you hover and constantly jump in every time they look bored. My youngest is 7 now, but we go to the beach regularly and I can read for hours while he digs and builds ramps for his monster trucks and fills up buckets.

Yes, always have, they are 14 and 17, both readers.

Yes! All the time. I like to think I've trained them from a young age. A book is a very useful prop to indicate they need to do their own thing.

Mine are 8, 6 and 4 and I read in front of them often - not a conscious choice, i just read a lot. My scrolling time is in an evening - but I read the rest of the time - lazy mornings when they're watching tv, or if they're playing nicely alone or doing something with my dh (i dont have loads of free time but my house is a tip and im behind with all my life admin as id rather sit and read). I don't know if it rubs off on them but my eldest reads daily through choice, my 6 year old has to be forced to read.

We never did - except maybe for an hour on holiday.

How would you have the time ?
Like most people, we were at work in the day, then collected them from childcare, got tea ready, ate, then (at different ages / stages) would be bathing them, reading their books, putting them to bed, or would be taking them out and about to Cubs or Brownies or swimming lessons etc. Around that obviously doing all the household stuff, and our own volunteering and activities, and work (from employment) we had to do in the evening.

To reassure you, all 3 of mine were avid readers as children, teens and still as adults, so it doesn't seem to have harmed them.

We used to love the post library visit to the coffee shop, they would sit and look/read their new books and I got a little time too!!

Always have. DS has been a reader all but a couple of teen years. He's 21. His GF is also a reader. Many evenings it's jus books and music in our house!

Yes. Dd is 3 and can play independently for 15-20 minutes so I often read near her. We also sometimes both read in her bed instead of naptime. She also loves to look at our books which she sees out and comes with me to the library to get new books for us both.

Oo I love this idea!!

How old is your DD? I read in front of mine often but they are 9 and 7 so much more chilled - I probably did when they were toddlers but less so.
Edit - just seen she’s 5. Mine were more independent by 5, but I was never afraid to say ‘ok in a little while, mumma needs a minute’ so they never got used to having attention all the time. Not saying that’s better, just how we are.
Also I might sometimes read while DH is engaged with them.
They see my on my phone too though, I’m only human!

Not until older! But yes definitely.

My daughter always read alone once she started on Enid Blyton books - she couldn't read enough from then on. My son loved being read to but didn't want to read himself. Once the Harry Potter books came out he read them voraciously. I'm forever grateful to the brilliant JKR for all she did for children's literacy, particularly my own son's.

All the time from when they were newborns. Obviously when they were toddlers it was less but I still would get a book out while we had a cuddle on the sofa or they were playing and have always been happy to say “we’ll do that when I’ve finished my page/chapter”.
Two of my four are real bookworms, the other two not so much although my eldest is coming back to it now she’s in her 20’s.

We read at the same time as both our girls they are almost 8 and 11. When they were 5 I would have found it trickier they played alone but would like to interact with us during that time & hadn’t moved on to a bigger chapter book. It’s a favourite activity now they are older we are avid readers and have always had lots of books around the house as we were also keen to raise children with a love of books/reading. We also regularly attend our local library and visit charity shops to buy books they will read 3-4 each a week now.

It’s made zero difference to my now adult son.
I read books to him all the time as a child and read my books around him when he was growing up.
He hasn’t read a book for entertainment purposes since he left school seven years ago.
He is very intelligent with a well paying job and he runs marathons regularly, he listens to podcasts while he trains and said to me he doesn’t get why anyone would spend hours reading when you could just listen to audible instead.
My husband is the same and doesn’t get it, I think it’s why neither of them can beat me at scrabble.

Yes when they were about 4. Mummy's quiet time 😀

We both do - more now the DC are older, but we always did even when they were younger, probably because DH and I are both readers so it was just part of our day/ normal lives rather than consciously doing it to model good reading habits.

Mine were all happy to watch tv/ play independently from fairly early on though, which helped!

Yeah I read in front of mine quite a lot - usually around 4pm when they have the tv on for a little bit I like to read rather than scroll on my phone and after lunch when my youngest goes down for a nap the oldest has some ‘quiet time’ which is playing independently while I do jobs or sit down and chill and do some reading.

You shouldn’t really engage with her all the time. They need to learn to entertain themselves by independent play which will develop their imagination, creativity and so on. You could start by having a 5 minute reading session every night as part of the bedtime routine. You all sit and read your own books, as she develops and learns to read bigger books this will obviously mean she is reading more and more.

At the moment I read my book and DC read their books in our bed on weekend mornings. In the summer I read in the hammock while they play in the garden. It’s not really something I’d planned, just what works for us.

I read all the time in front of mine. I didn't have a smartphone back then. I'm a voracious reader and would even cook the dinner with a book in my hand. I definitely read while breastfeeding.
Reading to children is very important but so is letting them play with books without adult input. Turning the pages and making up stories about the pictures are pre-reading skills and looking at books they know well gives them an idea of the shape of words on a page.

Yes my daughter sees me reading. Mostly when in the bath. I am for once a week but more like once a month. When I was working she saw me pack a book for one the train.

I also read or do puzzles (sudoku or crosswords) whilst she's doing quiet play and have done since she was about 3. She has me there if she needs but slightly removed so she can figure things out by herself. If she's awake before me she gets her books out from 3.5-4 she looked at the pictures, from 4 she would tell herself the story based on what she could remember prompted by the pictures and since she turned 5 she reads to herself.