when to start reading to your baby

[sharon137]

I have a four month old DS, and am really looking forward to reading to him - I am a writer and bookworm, and have such fond memories of being read to when I was little by my mum and dad.
I know some people say you can read to your baby from the day they are born, but I have sort of tred to read to DS, but he just wants to grab the book and slobber all over it, which is fair enough - teething, etc - he slobbers over everything and is more interested in banging things and leaping about in his jumperoo than anything else at the moment!
I was just wondering what age you found your babies started to really look at bright pictures in books, and enjoy the storytime routine? and what kind of books - the board ones with a word per page, rhyming ones, etc...

I tend to do more speaking rhymes with my 6mo (like This Little Piggy etc) but she also loves to participate in a cloth book - bright colours, chewable, some words!
Start with simple short fun books and as he gets older and more able to listen he will learn to sit and enjoy the sound of you reading. Then eventually he will begin to enjoy stories! Takes a while, but begin now, why not? It's something else nice to do together.

My daughter has loved the very simple short Helen Oxenbury books like this one since around 6 months.

Thanks all!! will head to a bookshop today. I have seen the textured ones - In The Night Garden do some lovely ones - so I will stock up on those. I guess I just want to have books "around" so that he learns to love them

I started before they could understand-by 6 months they had joined the library.

I used to read to Ds from when he was a newborn. For his last BF of the night I used to sit on my bed and read a book out loud whilst feeding him so not actually reading to him but it still seemed to sooth him listening to my voice.

When we switched to bottles I used to but him inbetween my legs with his head propped on my leg and hold the bottle with one hand and a book with another.

Since he started sitting up and holding his bottle (Now a beaker) he just sits on my lap whilst I read to him.

He loves his books and when I actually get him to a library, he loves it.

Same as piscesmoon here, library included!

We read to both of ours from the time we brought them home. Both were tube fed then bottles and it became a routine at bedtime.

They both love books (18mo and 3.10yo) and the house is full of them. We all read - DP does DD2 bedtime now and she already has favourite books. DD1 sits and 'reads' stories to DD2 too.

I started by telling stories rather than actual reading to start with (things like the 3 little pigs with lots of huffing and silly voices) - dramatic and no distracting actual book - eye contact with you. Maybe you can try that as a first step to storytime if the book isn't working (other than for eating) yet?

I should warn you that from this start DD developed a love of being read to which hasn't expired yet (she's 11!), I still have to read to her (and she still begs for more when I end a chapter). Its addictive!

We started early (3 months?) with poetry at bedtime. They enjoy the voice and rhythm, and we found it got us reading new things. Swift seemed to be popular with DS1!