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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

Do you still do bedtime stories with your kids after the age of 8??!!

45 replies

Bedgers · 15/09/2015 13:53

Just read a new survey that says parents should continue to read to kids and not give up once they can read for themselves. Does anyone continue to read to their kids after the age of 8? Feeling like a very guilty mum as I've got really bad about reading to kids especially once third child came along. Another survey says too much computer time reduces a child's grades by 2 levels - eek mine oldest DS's isn't exactly bright, not sure he could drop two levels!

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PesoPenguin · 15/09/2015 17:17

DS isn't 8 yet, he's 6 so I hope you don't mind me contributing. He's a fluent reader now, so what we do is take turns to read one page each of a chapter book. It's great as he's still practising his reading, getting to hear stories read aloud, discussing the story as well as having time to relax and cuddle. I hope we'll carry on doing it for at least the rest of primary school.

Lonecatwithkitten · 15/09/2015 17:40

There is also the element of how do we as adults enjoy books.??Firstly we don't read to improve our reading level and secondly some of the pleasure is in discussing the book with others.??Sharing the pleasure of the story no matter what age you are is a great thing.??So yes I still read with my secondary school DD sometimes I read to her, sometimes she reads to me.

vestandknickers · 15/09/2015 17:45

Yes but not every night as I did when they were younger. We're waiting for the new David Walliams to come out and I'll read that to them so we can all enjoy it together. Mine are very good readers and read to themselves every night, but it is still a treat for us all to read together.

Madcats · 15/09/2015 20:33

DD(8) is a great little reader. She is perfectly capable of reading to herself, for quite a while. She loves being read to (particularly when she is in the Bath for some reason!) so we try to do a bit either in the evening or first thing in the morning (she's an early riser).

The thing is that the vocabulary they are being exposed to in books really shoots up and i noticed that DD sometimes just tries to pronounce words phonetically (or reads words she doesn't understand). If one of us is reading at/with her we can stop to talk about the book etc.

Young kids will happily listen to you read out the contents of a cereal packet if you do it with emphasis (so don't worry about the choice of story/lack of pictures for the younger family members).

If you can't find the time very often, borrow a few talking books from the library. I need to thank David Tennant and Stephen Fry for the way my daughter reads with emphasis (and they are a great sanity-saver for car journeys).

Minicaters · 15/09/2015 20:38

Yes. We went through a spell of thinking it was unnecessary at top end of y2, but on moving to juniors we had the importance of continuing drummed into us. I have to admit I don't relish it particularly (unless it's a particularly funny book) but DH quite enjoys it, I think.

She reads a bit, we read a bit. The ratio depends on how hard the book is. It also means we don't have to find time to hear her read (which school is also very big on throughout juniors) elsewhen in the evening.

JimmyGreavesMoustache · 15/09/2015 20:42

dd1 is in year 4 - no plans to stop reading bedtime stories. We're currently on Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince - the HP books take us MONTHS at about half a chapter a night, and we both enjoy it.

AWimbaWay · 15/09/2015 20:47

Yes, I always try to read books just slightly above their level of understanding, so books they'd struggle with themselves, but enjoy with me explaining the odd word or phrase. Currently reading Wonder to my 10 year old dd.

stealthsquiggle · 15/09/2015 20:53

I read to 8yo DC2. I read to DC1 until he didn't want me to (about 10.5), but he still wants me to tuck him in and very occasionally asks for a story.

BlueChampagne · 16/09/2015 14:00

Yes - when DS1 lets us! It's a good way to tackle texts that they might not get through independently yet. Currently "Through the Looking Glass".

MilkRunningOutAgain · 16/09/2015 22:40

Still do with 9 yr old DD, she loves it. dS is 12 and gave up when he was about 9 ish at his request, a relief as he doesn't do stories and I was thoroughly fed up of reading " Cricket Grounds of Great Britain" interspersed with sport news articles! DD is starting to enjoy some really great books so I hope I will go on reading to her for many years to come.

Witchend · 17/09/2015 14:16

Dd1 and dd2 decided about aged 5yo that they'd rather read to themselves. And they do, especially dd2 who has invented ways to read after lights out no one would ever have guessed

Ds prefers me to read to him. My only proviso is that they must be books I enjoy He's 8yo and still loves it, we curl up together in bed and read together.

So we've nearly read through the Lone Pine Series and currently reading Antonia Forest's historical ones. He takes a little to get into new characters in books, so often the first in a series I'll read 3-4 chapters one the first day. After that it's usually 1 chapter per night.

My favourite times is when he gets excited and scared. He hides under the bed clothes and calls out "go on" if I pause.

ErrolTheDragon · 17/09/2015 14:23

Book at bedtime was something that DD and I enjoyed for many years - once we were onto 'classics' it was a treat for me too, revisiting Narnia and Wildcat Island etc. Ended up part way through the Discworld series (quell surprise ) - I think it was sometime last year when she was 15. Obviously she read alone too, but it was a nice shared ritual.

Elibean · 17/09/2015 16:16

I read to my 8 year old Y4 child some nights but not all, and she reads to me sometimes (otherwise to herself, but school encourage reading out loud up until Y6). It totally varies depending on energy levels, time and so on...but we enjoy that time when we can get it!

My nearly 12 year old dd still likes to read out loud to us sometimes, mostly so she can get us to enthuse (or not ) about whatever novel she's obsessed with...

Saracen · 17/09/2015 22:42

When she lets me, which is not often. She doesn't have a long attention span and doesn't enjoy stories much, which is a pity as she can't read yet and I do think it's important for her to be read to. She does usually have a handful of short poems at bedtime though, which is better than nothing.

My other child was always happy to be read to for hours on end, and is still delighted when I make time to read to her. She is 15.

hazeyjane · 17/09/2015 23:10

Dd1(9) and dd2(8), both still enjoy being read to. Dh and I swap around as one of us has to get ds to bed, but usually one of us will read something, it is The Greek Myths by Roger Lancelynn Green at the moment, then they read to themselves.

It is especially good for dd2 as she is dyslexic, and there is a big gap between the level of book comprehension wise, and the level of book she can actually read - we want her to enjoy books, and she struggles to read the books that she will really love.

BeamingBrenda · 17/09/2015 23:19

Dd1 is almost 8.

I listen to her read her school book every day.

At night she reads one chapter and then I read one chapter of the chosen bedtime story. We are currently reading Rebecca's world.

She then reads to herself till lights off time. She is addicted to the Secret Seven books atm.

hazeyjane · 17/09/2015 23:22

aaargh! I am going to be having nightmares about Mr Glister now! Curse you!!

stealthsquiggle · 18/09/2015 15:39

Witchend (good name BTW) - are the Lone Pine books still in print or do I have to go and steal our childhood copies from my parents' house ?

gingercat12 · 18/09/2015 19:19

DS is 7.5 and I thought he would give up on our daily snuggle together when he finished the 4th Harry Potter book on his own this summer. But no, we are reading Harry Potter and the order of the Phoenix together. He likes discussing what we read (e.g. mean children, tabloid journalism, vivisection - whatever is in the book). If I read 5 minutes to him, that means about 10 minutes of chat, so it takes forever. Maybe it is just a safe way to discuss things he wants to.

I am so happy, I am not the only one still reading to him. I thought perhaps it was only us.

He still reads to himself a lot, and his Daddy reads to him every night a different book, too. Can you tell he is an only child?

NotSoDesperateHousewife · 18/09/2015 19:31

I don't for 7 or 8 year old DSs because they don't want me to. They listen in with the youngest 2 sometimes, but generally they prefer to read to themselves, can't say I blame them, I'm not a fan of reading out loud if I'm enjoying a book, I find it harder to get into the story or visualise as I'm concentrating too much on getting the words out right.

They're both reading various Harry Potter and David Walliams books at the moment.

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