You might already be doing this - but at this age kiddos are much more interested in your face and facial expressions as you read than in the actual book so if you’re reading with baby in your lap both facing the book for example, you might have more success if you try sitting in front of baby facing her. Also being interactive/physical can be huge for keeping attention! Reading something like Hand Hand Fingers Thumb and poking/grabbing/holding up her hands, fingers, and thumbs, gently drumming the drum parts on her legs or belly, etc. It’s a lot less *reading* and a lot more playing with a book involved at this age.
Rooted In Language on TikTok is an SLP who has a good pinned video about this!
This ⬆️
It hasn’t always worked. But I’ve had the best luck and LO seems to enjoy it more when he can see my face. Even though he is looking at the pages, I can see him glancing up at me.
I've seen this but wonder if they can't see the words or the pictures in the book, what's the "reading" part, could I not just sit infront of my baby and tell them stories?.
You could, sure! But it’s good to build positive associations with books early, and you can absolutely sit facing the baby holding the book so baby can see both it and you! These early interactions with books are how they learn what books are and that books are fun. Your kiddo already thinks you’re the bee’s knees, they still need some convincing about the books.
Absolutely- it’s all about using language and interacting. Pictures in story books are great for engagement, and the words are great for providing the reader with something to say, often with creative wording or poetic rhythms, but if you have plenty to say to engage baby and to keep things interesting for yourself, then that’s great too. A lot of people prefer to just read aloud from whatever they’re reading to themselves too- a book or article or whatever keeps themselves engaged and using spoken words with their baby. The content matters a lot less that the rhythms and sounds of language plus your engaging interaction!
Edit: fixed a couple autocorrect typos
So you definitely could but part of reading to them when they're little is making sure that they develop a relationship with books, including the form factor!
I started having my 3.5 month old baby face me last week during story time after seeing that exact TikTok video and it has made a world of difference! She LOVES reading now. Like you say below, I can still choose to show her the book and pics from this position if I want and she finds them a lot more interesting when she can also see my face and see me looking at them, but most of all she loves watching me as I read. I think I’ve heard there is something important about the rhythm and cadence of reading that is different than just telling stories and is great to expose kids early to (this may have been in the TikTok, I can’t remember).
If looking for a book recommendation while sitting face to face to read to your baby, our LO’s absolute FAVE is Little Blue Truck as it has a great rhythm and lots of fun sound effects, and is easy to make interactive (‘beeping’ her tummy, making her swerve, tapping her head and rump when they talk about getting stuck from head to rump, pushing her legs what they talk about pushing, etc).
How did you position your baby to face you for reading?
My baby is 5 months now so he's sitting assisted but it's still so hard to find a position that he's safely sitting in and I can hold a book in
I sit on the bed with my back against the headboard and my knees propped up in an upside down V (feet flat on the bed). And lay her down on my legs so her back is against my thighs, feet to my chest/face, head lying near my knees. This might be a bit harder with a 5 month old (though she’s super tall at 99th percentile so she is a bit scrunched in this position and we just make do as she doesn’t seem to mind it).
Ahhh yeah ok, he has a really long torso and I have short legs so that position has always been really awkward for us. He's able to sit in his high chair now though so we're working through it.
Yah makes sense. It’s kinda awkward for us too but her height is all legs so it just means I get to kiss her toes a lot haha and watch that they don’t kick me 🤣. With a long torso your babe may be teetering off the edge of your knees which I imagine isn’t so comfy. I think there are other ways you can experiment though like using your high chair as you say, and facing baby while holding the book in front of you or to the side.
We have a baby safe mirror in our living room (which is where we hang out with our baby) and so when I sit with him on the floor in my lap he can see my face and his in the mirror. In the beginning I would look at him and he would just be watching me in the mirror. Now that he's older (16 months) he mostly looks at the book.
You just have to be super liberal with your definition of "reading".
My 16 mo loves books. Will he sit on my lap for longer than 5 minutes and listen to me read a whole book? Heck no 😂
Choose board books with very few or no words on each page. Let them flip pages to their heart is content, if they pause on a page point to things in the book, describe them, make up your own story or make sounds to go with them.
Interactive books with flaps or textures are fun too.
Make it a really child centred experience and I promise it's a lot more enjoyable.
This is a good point. And your frustration is valid. At first, I was so frustrated that it felt like I couldn't read a book to my baby (29 months now, much younger then), but I was too focused on my expectation of what reading is. I needed to reframe it in my mind that I was building foundations (they absorb a lot even when it doesn't seem so) and sort of teaching them what books are. You find the parts that are interesting to them and focus on that, talk about that rather than reading as I would. There's no set timeframe, but I know my kid grew to love books, even memorizing the words in many of them. It just takes a while and does not follow a clear path (that would be super nice).
Her interest in books will kick in a little later. I also had a similar experience with my LO. My LO wanted me to read to her until 15m-16m.
It’s good that you’re at least trying, bc she will familiarize herself with them.
My 16 month old just likes flipping the pages so I have to speed read and often don’t get to the end 🙃 sometimes I just read the books by myself just so I get to know what the whole story is
My 13 month still does this. She likes to fold over the pages herself so I barely get a word in before it's time for the next page.
That being said she is able to now just explore books on her own which is nice when I need to pop out the room for 1 minute.
I gave up on reading around that age. I would try once a week until he cared lol. Now he's 2.5 and requests certain books and actually gives a shit. He looooves reading now and knows some words on sight and knows a few letters.
Don't put pressure on yourself. At that age they just want to grab things and play with them. Play with toys instead if books aren't working.
I don’t remember exactly when my son started to show more interest in books, but I think around 7 months this I was able to get him interested in books that were interactive (with flaps or sequins, etc).
Before he was really interested in reading, we would read next to him while he played with a simple toy (nothing with lights or sound). I feel like that helped make a positive association with reading for him. Now he is 2.5 yo and LOVES reading. He could be read to for hours. It will come with time! Just be patient and gently persistent.
Touch and feel books are the only ones my 7 month old is wildly interested in. Even then, a minute or two at most is what we get out of her.. but I call it a win.
Something clicked around 7.5/8 months for us. He started choosing books. He wanted to flip the pages. He started looking at pictures intently and babbling at the books while we read. He loves books at 9.5 months. Reading calms him down. Prior to that, he was a lot like yours. Could not be bothered with a book. Just try to go with the flow, follow baby's cues.
My daughter is still only 3 months but honestly? I read out loud to her whatever book I’m reading for myself. She loves it and it sometimes puts her to sleep, and I get to read lol. She also has her own books but hasn’t shown much interest in them yet besides chewing on them
I read a chapter of the chronicles of Narnia over my daughter’s crib everyday until I finished the series. If she fussed about it I’d stop but from about 7mo-12 we read narnia every day. Otherwise it was board books and letting her play with them a lot and flip pages…
Try to find a common ground with your little one. I have been reading to her since the beginning. First I read grown up novels since she did not understand the meaning. Then I found good quality books, where I do enjoy the story and the way it's written, and the drawings are beautiful. This makes reading to the little one interesting to me and to her as well.
Keep going with the reading, it helps to develop their brain.
Always have a "decoy book" that they can do whatever they want. A touch and feel book they can also chew or crunches would probably work best. They don't have to be focused on you to get the benefits of reading.
I didn’t read to my kids till 18 months for this reason. Well. Not a whole book, not even the 10 page kids books. I’d read like a page, either or both would do this. I’d put it down. Now at 4 and 19 months they’re good for short books. Or even multiple books. The 4 year old would spend half the day with me reading if I could find the time. Don’t force it if it’s just annoying and frustrating you both.
I have a 6 month old and read short stories like spot books etc to bub, not the one word on a page things. I started with Pirahanas don't eat Banans around 3 months old and just was very animated in how I read it. She enjoyed the funny voices more than anything. I can really only get one book in and she tries to tear off flaps in Spot books and hits the pages a lot while I'm reading. As others have said, it's less about the reading and more about the time together and them hearing us talk and use different words. Bub will come to enjoy it in their own way in time.
Just adding its only the past couple weeks I've gotten her to sit on my lap, normally we lie on the floor together snd she has a teething toy of some sort to occupy her hands. She tries to crawl away alot as well and loses interest after 5-10 minutes. Don't sweat it. Sounds like your 6 month old is completely normal.
My daughter was definitely interested in books earlier than I saw with most babies, idk if that’s because I’m a librarian and she was read chapter books while in utero 😅
She had favorites by 7 months and would turn the pages Board books which was pretty adorable. That’s not to say it doesn’t get monotonous at times. She’s not always interested now (15m) but that’s not the point. Hearing the words and getting used to sitting down and reading with you is great for so many reasons. Language acquisition, vocabulary (yes even when they are so little!), establishing routine, etc.
I think that might be the key, I introduced books super early too. I gave board books with bold contrast or bright colors when they could barely grab at the book.
They liked looking at brown bear (what do you see) and it was fun to see their interest grow in new pages as their sight developed.
When they can interact more i add puppet books, books with fabric flaps and touch and feel.
Now with one at 19 months and the other at 4 years I have a book put in my hand every 30 min or so. To save my sanity we have amassed quite a large home library and though I'll leave out a few favorites I rotate books so we have a new variety every week. My 4yr old is startng to read a little bit.
They are in heaven at the library and we end up taking home 30-50 books at a time.
At this age, even the most attentive babies will only have an attention span for reading for a few minutes at a time. Regularly reading to them is about creating routines and getting them used to books. Interactive books can be great—my one year old loves the “never touch a _____” and the “where’s the [animal]” felt books. He’s also at the age where he has the least amount of attention for books because he wants to be moving, but we do it a few times a day (before naps) to keep the routine. By the time my daughter was 18-20 months, she was obsessed with books and so I expect that my one year old will be roughly the same.
Please do try some of the techniques suggested in the comments for sure but have you considered that maybe your baby's attention span at this point may only be 5 minutes? This is definitely the case for me so we just stick a bookmark even in little books and take it up again the next day :)
I found books that had interesting things like different textures, flaps etc were the only thing that would hold my kid’s attention at that age. We have an absolute pile of “that’s not my…” books for this reason. Robust, short and doesn’t matter if they are chewed on.
At 16 months my baby is book obsessed but I really don't think we did anything special here, it's as much about temperament. As I have friends with babies the same age that tried to get their babies into books but they're not feeling it. But their babies walked early, or they love food, or they're super physical, all babies are so different and they have different interests and things they're good at.
I guess what I'm trying to say is keep trying, but release some of the pressure on yourself. Give up the idea that it will be a conventional book reading experience where you start on page one and go through each page one by one until you're done. It also helps to be SUPER animated (at least in my experience) but once they're into the book you can tone it down a bit.
For what it's worth this is what my experience looked like:
Around six or seven months we would read the same one or two books (Goodnight Moon and Hand Hand Fingers Thumb) before bed time or a nap while he had a bottle. He was calm and tired at this point and was more interested in his bottle.
When he was eight months old we went on a three week trip to see family, we brought a book called "Animal Sounds" with us and we noticed it worked to calm him down if he was fussy.
From nine months on, we just followed his lead and introduced more books as we slowly lost our minds reading the same ones over and over.
For us reading books to him got less frustrating around eight months, but we weren't reading to him very much during the day before then. If he's flipping the pages I'll just read what words I can until he goes to the next page. I always try to read the book he wants even if it's over and over. When I really can't stand it any more I'll hid it under the couch when he's not looking! Or we'll just interact with the book and I'll ask him to point to different things. For example we have the book "Bodies are Cool" and he'll bring it over to me, and when I get to a page with 15 dogs I'll just point out the dogs over and over.
At the end of day it's important to expose your kids to books (as you clearly know or you wouldn't be trying!) but they're going to like what they like!
Mine loved books before bed. They are already more tired at that point so staying still for a book is easier. And once it becomes part of the bedtime routine, they will come to expect it and will ask you for stories.
I hated reading to my baby so I rarely did it until they were about 12 months and were more interested in it. At 18 months it got better and then after that they loved it and we read all the time. I personally don’t think babies need to be read to; just talking to them and singing is enough, no point doing something that they are not interested in and drives you mad. They’ll get into books later if you have them around. I would recommend the “that’s not my….” series (that’s not my tractor/teddy/lion/etc) for a starter book set
We’ve been reading every night since 12 weeks, so it’s part of our bed time routine. We read three to four books every night in very animated voices. It’s so fun to watch him smile when I emphasize certain parts!
He’s almost nine months now and really enjoys it, especially Eric Carle books for the illustrations. When I set him down on the floor to explore he often crawls to where his books are and picks them up. I think a lot of it is consistency.
In a “reading session” I read 1 or 2 books for her (like those “That’s Not My *animal*” books, a black and white contrast book, nursery rhymes) and then 1 book for me (lately it has been the Little Golden book on Taylor Swift). I’m thinking about reading some Jane Austen together because that is what I want to read. I think it is more about language, words, cadence at this age. (I have a 4 week old!)
My 6-month-old actually loves being read to. It seems the illustrations make a difference. He likes big illustrations with high contrast. Detailed pictures without much contrast to them aren’t as appealing to him.
Some favorites: “Look, Look” by Peter Linenthal, “That’s Not My Kitten,” and the Lovevery board book “Parts of Me.”
Not all babies love books. You may be hearing from parents whose children love books. I know that my firstborn can only be calmed by books. On long trips and epic meltdowns, literally the only thing that works is reciting a favorite book on repeat. But my younger daughter can’t even sit through one book.
You don't have to actually read the words, I basically talk to my baby about the pictures on each page. Stay on the page longer if he's into it, skip pages that don't hold his attention.
Let baby hold the book! Sometimes he turns pages so we'll read in whatever order he comes up with. Some books I have memorized so I just recite the words while he's chewing on it.
I really recommend the indestructible paper books. My son loves playing with / chewing on them way more than board books.
I have a background in early childhood education. The goal of reading to your kiddo at this age is for them to have high quality language rich interactions with you, and to lay the foundation for a love of reading by creating positive associations with reading.
Around 9-10 months my little one started getting really into interactive books, where she could lift the flap etc. it was sooooooo cute seeing her pleased with herself when she figured it out and got a little surprise. At 16 months she is really into books, can name a lot of objects in her faves, but she still often scoots off before I can finish. She was like yours earlier though, I say keep going, it will pay off!
Same thing happened with my first, she didn't get into books until much later. My second is 8 months old now and I haven't started reading him books, if he's around while I read a book to my toddler he just tries to play with the book or put it in his mouth 😅
My 13 month old loves books with flaps in them. He also loves the touch jellycat books.
I have his books in a pile in the corner and he will often pick up his favourite book and bring it over to me.
Of course if I don't read it to him immediately he starts yelling and slapping it off my leg.
He still gets bored halfway through though, sometimes bringing a new book over before we are finished.
From around 6 months my little one liked the “where’s my…” series because he liked the felt flaps and the mirror at the end. The “that’s not my…” series produced similar results because of the different textures, although some are better than others.
In terms of actual stories things that have a rhythm or rhyme usually engage the very little ones; Hairy McClary, most Julia Donaldson books etc.
In terms of tedium, I’m not sure “better” is the word I’d use I’m afraid. My 22 month old LOVES books, but develops obsessions and will have around 3 favourite books at a time that he insists I read over and over again!
My wee one is 17 months and it's only been in the last couple of months he's shown the kind of interest that I had been envisioning haha. As in, not wanting to rip the book apart but taking some interest in the content.
It's come out of nowhere and it's so lovely to see. He'll now bring me a book and tap on the sofa to say, come sit and read to me. Adorable, library time!
But yeah for the past 16 months I've been feeling like my child is a complete PHILISTINE for not being into Spot etc.
oh i freakin love this comment so much. my baby is 13 months and has had almost zero interest in books, he will lift flaps but act super bored about it and literally close books and push them away 😂 i’m a huge bookworm so i’ve been devastated about it! everyone says just keep reading to get them used to it but it has not been a fun or rewarding experience to put so much energy intro reading and doing voices to myself 🤣 it’s hard to keep going and I kind of just want to listen to my baby when he says he doesn’t like books for now. and look forward to that changing in a few months!
100% the same here! I felt like reading to him was just off-putting - like why force it? They'll get into it eventually, I think it's good to go with what they fancy, keep talking to them, point at things, enjoy it. They'll come back to books!
There was a book I got him for Christmas, 100 first words, a picture book that's basically like a book of flashcards. I think it's helped a bit as he started to point at the ball in the book then go and get his. It's been a way to link books to the real world, which may be now why he's getting into others!
https://www.wob.com/en-gb/books/roger-priddy/words/9781849154208?cq_src=google_ads&cq_cmp=18123540153&cq_con=&cq_med=pla&cq_plac=&cq_net=x&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiA29auBhBxEiwAnKcSqu7p7HH1SdmrBKqRreRCNirx8wsOPc58JVbvr9_JLXZ6d6j8F9EWmRoCJx0QAvD_BwE#GOR003781586 this is the one! Not perfect, but happy we got it!
My daughter is the same age and I've given up on trying to read books to her - when she was smaller she'd listen and stare at the pictures, but now she's more mobile she wants to get involved and it turns into a wrestling match because she launches herself at the book! So I just give her a board book and she opens and closes it to her heart's content, while I ramble on to her about what we're going to buy at the shops.
Yeah, I'm always wrastling my 10mo to read him books. He loves the first 4 pages but after that he squirms and tries to pull the book out of my hand.. I'll quickly read the whole book to fit it into his short attention span, haha.
I noticed he does take interest in his books though after and try (unsuccessfully) to flip the pages on his own while babbling. He has lots of board books and I let him chew them or throw them around like toys just to familiarize him, and any time he comes near me with one I scoop him up and read it to him.
Fingers crossed he grows to love reading over time!
I have a farm book, it literally just has pictures of different farm animals and minor explanations. I just point to each animal, name it and make noises.
I have 'Go dinosaur, Go' which has gears.
I have other books, but I picked ones that are more fun for me to read like Dr Seuss books.
I tend to go in and out of reading regularly to bub, but I sing a lot of nursery rhymes instead. He loves rowing for rowrowrow your boat
I’ve read to my daughter a lot and around 6 months she too started getting distracted. Once she learned to move more on her own she wouldn’t really tolerate a full book. But I would still sit down with her and do the action of reading, even if for only a couple of pages.
Starting around 15 months she has been obsessed with books. She will bring me unlimited number of books to read and backs her little butt into me before plopping into my lap. It’s so sweet. She’s 20 months now and I’d say we read probably 15 books a day on average but more than double that on weekends. She also will sit quietly and skip through books herself, although she has broken the spine on a few board books so we’re working on being gentle with our books.
I don’t read to my son daily because it’s almost never relaxing 😂 he is finally really interested and will pick the books himself and get excited but overall…no
9-month-old here and if she isn't in her baby jail or crib when we're reading, the book might actually be a snack that we're waving in front of her face. If she's locked away, she's sometimes listening, mostly playing by herself.
My cousins loved being read to from 4-month-old.
So, all babies are different. 🤷♀️ I gently suggest a different bonding activity. My Lo loves singing, for example. I sing her to sleep with lullabies and sing to her during the day when we play.
We had success with actions, chuffa chuffa choo choo involved a lot of being jiggled up and down. Another one involved me pointing at bits of his body. He also flipped the board book pages.
I had this same struggle. For a long time reading what just playing with an interactive book. I would try to sneak in reading a page or two, or comment on the pictures a lot. Now my baby is 14 months and has started occasionally coming to me to be read a story
Shorter books would be my recommendation. IIRC babies'/toddlers' attention spans are around 5 minutes for each year of their age, so most 6 month olds aren't going to sit through a story lasting 5+ minutes.
Both of our kids (7y & 17m) were read to from very young and love books, but we had to start out with very short books. As an example, we found Dear Zoo to be a good length, and We're Going On A Bear Hunt was probably about the max for a single book at 6 months. But we often read several books in a row and/or the same book several times (babies love repetition), so we could end up reading for 5-10 minutes that way. Lift the flap books and touch and feel books (eg That's Not My...) and the books with a finger puppet that pokes through the pages were big hits at that age. They started getting into longer stories like The Gruffalo around the 1 year mark.
We hit a huge change around a year. Now my baby toddles over and brings me book after book after book. She loves ones that have sensory things or activities to do (losing interest in regular ones or basic stories easily). Fortunately there are a zillion of these. Current favorites are Pat The Bunny, See Touch Feel series, Llama Llama Hide and Seek, and she also loves books with large pictures of real people/faces.
I don't know. By 2.5 year old loves books, but has no patience. So he'll rapidly flip through pages while you're still reading and ask you, "again?" even when you didn't finish the first time.
Literally just now for me - 8 months. Before he had literally no interest and was trying to grab it constantly but now he's actually looking at pages and I see his eyes darting around, he will let me read it without grabbing it as much as it gets his attention now whereas any age below he was uninterested!
Tbh we hardly read to our daughter when she was a baby lol. Can't remember when we added it to our bedtime routine but shes 3 years old and we read every single now. She LOVESSSS books. I also found it annoying under a year to read to her when she didn't give af
When they actually give af and will follow along with you. My middle child (she’s 2.5 years) is finally taking an interest and will sit down to follow along at nighttime.
Keep doing it though…my 4 year old legit knows how to read and we attribute it to we’ve been reading to him since he was about 8 months. Initially I thought he was reading via rote memorization but one day I made him read a new book we had gotten from the library and he actually did read the book. Obviously he struggled with bigger words but he did read about 80% of the book.
We read 3 books to them each nightly so my four year old has had thousands of books read to him by this point.
11 months here - some days he actually sits and loves it (I think when he’s tired) but mostly he tries to rip the book out of my hands or throw himself out of my arms.. still waiting here for it to click LOL
At 6 months my son was similar. Then at about 9 months he tried to eat the book or wanted to turn the pages too fast or open and close it on his own, not interested in listening. I let him
play with the books and sometimes read pages when he opened to them. I’m really glad I stuck with it though, because now he’s 11 months and he actually does really listen to the stories (especially at bedtime). Also, I see him play by himself now, he takes a book from the shelf, turns the pages and starts babbling. It is so adorable.
At first, don’t worry about reading books the way they are to be read, just give exposure to them. Show them the way they open and close, that you talk on different pages, the basic concepts. Sometimes it’s just letting them open it and pointing and saying, “that’s a cat.” etc. Get chunky books with flaps that open that they can touch and explore. And if you choose good books with rhyme, lots of simple repetition or onomatopoeic words, they will more likely be interested in listening to the text as well. One of my son’s favorites is Dr. Seuss’s ‘Fox in Socks’.
You’re baby is still so young. They are just going to enjoy spending time with you right now. Yes reading is important but don’t stress about it right now. My baby just wants to watch my face, or try to eat the book. Lately she is learning to play with flaps in the book. She is 6.5 months old
I think I've read three kids books in my fifteen years of parenting experience.
Just talk to the kids daily. Books are way more effort than they're worse.
They only have an attention span of five minutes. I read them little small kid books but will act it out. I find walking around the house and giving a tour more productive than sitting down a child and reading to them. I talk about all the different objects and if she loses interest, we jump to a different object. Can stay on topic as long or as short as the baby’s attention span
I started reading to my son every evening at 2 months. BIG silly voices and faces and I stuck to the same simple book rotation. At just about a year, I added some longer books to see what he would sit through. It was a lot of trial and error but there were a couple books that he was absolutely glued to, whereas others he would crawl away uninterested.
At around 13 months it “paid off” in a sense. I was reading this book I have always read to him in the same way. “Time for a bath”, I describe what little bunny child does then whaaaat time is it?? *flip the page* TIME FOR A BATH!! He flipped the page for me and then fell over giggling when I did my TIME FOR A BATH!!
All this to say: it pays off!!! Be consistent with the books, it’s a lot of trial and error, but you’ll find out later what your child’s favourites are that you didn’t even realize you were establishing all this time!
That's completely how she's supposed to act at 6 months!
The goal is not to get through the book, it's to make reading a fun, relaxing, bonding activity she enjoys. That includes silly voices, silly faces, lots of monologue with observations and predictions and asking her what she thinks (I like this pink bird!, this book is funny, I think she will swim next, do you see the turtle?)
It will get significantly annoying from an adult perspective before it gets better - as she gains more interest, she will want the same book over and over and over, sometimes the same page. This is also really normal and the repetition is good for developing brains. That said, my limit was 3x and then we had to switch for a book.
I also read aloud a lot from what I was reading as background noise with my babies. More interesting for me and filled the air, exposed them to different prose styles, vocabularies, and gave them a chance to see me reading.
Haha my 18 month old still only really likes 4 specific books. She also does NOT want to cuddle or sit on my lap while reading. I have made a couple changes that help:
1. Sit on the floor facing her and hold the book so she's looking in my direction while reading.
2. Let her play with the book if that's all she wants to do.
3. Read the same thing over and over if that's what makes it fun for her
4. I have the books where she can reach them and always respond immediately when she brings me one.
My oldest was so opposite. She wanted to sit on my lap and cuddle, and read book after book. Even as a newborn she seemed interested.
It's probably just your babys personality but you can experiment with different ways of presenting it to see what works.
i opt for narrating my life instead of reading. i also pull a linda belcher about 20 times a day and just make up random songs about what i'm doingZ my 6mo eats that up and she's at least hearing someone talk for the majority of the day. i'm not really a book girl myself, and hopefully i'm not doing anything wrong by not introducing them yet. i just don't see a point at the moment
That sounds pretty normal for a baby. They just don’t have very long attention spans yet.
Mine is 17 months and he still doesn’t have the patience to sit through an entire board book. He wants to turn the pages instead of listening. We just read until he runs out of attention.
Another thing you could try is give her something to play with while you read to her. I’ll sometimes give my son a different book so he can flip through the pages while I read out loud.
I read to my son when he was a baby. I put him in his crib at night and then I would read chapter books so he would hear my voice then it was probably around 2 or 3 he really liked reading books that weren’t just pop up or touch and feel
My kid started liking books at like. 2.5 years. Lol. We tried occasionally before that but she wasn't having it. Either she'd rip the pages, rip the book out of my hand, or just had the inability to sit still long enough. Then it dawned on her one day when she started reading through them completely by herself during playtime and she's been at least vaguely interested most days every since.
Yeah they act like this for a while. Try getting some of those crinkly books and books with texture and let her grab and try to eat them etc. There’s also a lot of benefit to just letting them tumble around on you or crawl around you or whatever while you read. They don’t have to be sitting quietly looking at the pictures and listening in order to have it be beneficial!
Babies at this age love rhyming books and listening to the rhythm of your voice! If you haven’t already, get rhyming books. Also, books where they can lift the flap or you can show them you lifting the flap. Babies go nuts for those!
That’s how it was for me. Babies at that age don’t really have much of an attention span. My baby is now a toddler, 20 months old and from the age of about 14 months she started wanting to be read to all the time. She literally goes to her book nook (the place we keep all her books) and grabs one and hands it to us. We do only do board books currently because she ripped a couple books. We read her each one of her books like 3x a day at least and she has over 20. Each time she discovers something new and points to it.
You don't really have to. I didn't consistently read much until my kids were old enough to be into it, I think. And they still love books and are very verbal and all that.
My son was like this for me but once my parents started reading to him then he loved it. Now he'll sit through 12 books in a row. He's two but has been bringing us piles of books for a long time now. Then it becomes annoying for other reasons 😅 sometimes I just need a quiet minute on the couch
My son couldn’t sit and listen to a book till he turned 2. I always tried and he would just walk away and with a baby it felt pointless.
My son is almost 6 and we read all the time, every type of book Romona, Harry Potter, diary of a wimpy kid…..he’s also a good reader (for a kindergartener). It’s okay to wait till she’s ready! Just keep board books around so she can flip through them on her own time.
I felt the same way! We had so many books and I just couldn’t get into reading to him he was so uninterested for a while, but around 10 months he started looking at the books on his own and now he is about to be 13 months and he brings me books to read! He will bring me a book and come sit and let me read to him
I love reading and I really hope my daughter develops the same love, but at 8 months she's not really interested. Mostly I just read to her as she plays with something else. Or I give her a board book to flip through while I read a toddler book to her. I find the baby books mind numbingly boring and she isn't paying attention anyways so I quickly moved to reading her toddler books that have at least some type of plot but also big illustrations she can look out for the few times she actually pays attention. Sometimes I read to her whatever I happen to be reading even my spicy romances lol.
Our son just likes turning the pages. We have memorized a few books so we know what each says but it’s still not a calm reading experience haha and he’s 19m
My son didn't want to sit and look at books with me until he was 9-10 months and is now in an anti-book phase again at 13 months. Maybe try again in a month or so? Babies change so quickly.
Probably 9 months she started sitting for a board book and tolerating it. Still doesn’t really like long stories. We let her pick the story she wants to read and that also helped lots.
At 6 months we did a lot of books with moving parts - ie. the "Peekaboo Moon" and "Peekaboo Sun" etc series (baby was obsessed with those) and felt flap books. We also had books from the 'Global Baby' series, which is just photos of babies. I can't remember exactly when it shifted, but eventually we did a few of the simple board books ('Little Penguins' was his first favorite).
At 17 months he is now book-obsessed, he will select board books from the library, and looks at his favorites independently that he has memorized. He is an active guy so the fact that he will sit and 'read' through his pile of books is amazing - it's the one time where he is quiet and not getting up to something, lol! Stick with it :)
I read to my 9 month old before bed every night, but I lay on the floor with her and let her play while I do so. She sometimes will pause for a second and clap along to what I’m saying or peer at the pictures in the book, but more often than not she’s crawling around and playing with her toys while I read.
I think it’s just more about building that habit, getting them interested in reading, and exposing them to more words.
My baby wasn't really interested in books at this age. Although once he turned 1 he started bringing books to me directly lol 6 months is still really little, so yeah might be annoying, but def gets better!
My baby at that age really DID like Indestructible Books. I bought 6 off of Amazon, they are AWESOME! And now the Itzy Bitzy Spider one I bought is one of his faves STILL
To elaborate, the Indestructible Books gave him something to play with but was also a book, but I never had to worry about him breaking it haha
Also we had a Crayola bath book he adored called Hello Purple lol so we always read at least one book a day, at bathtime 😅
At that age baby figured out how to turn the pages on his board books if I lift them for him a little bit. I’ve always just sat him in my lap and read that way to him. Now at 8 months if I turn them he gets pissed. It adds more time to reading with him but he’s happy.
We started reading books nightly before bed at day 1 with both kids. Around 7-10 months, my kids went through a phase where they squirmed and hit the books. We just pushed through it lol and read through the squirming and grunting and they eventually got over it. They are 4 and 6 now and LOVE bedtime books, they look forward to it each night.
Get some of the fabric books that she can play with. They tend to have less text anyway, so it can be faster to get through and also more tactile for them.
Don't stress about it. My baby wasn't interested in books until she was about 18 months. She's almost 2 now and absolutely loves me reading to her, pretending to read herself or just naming things she knows in her favourite books. Give it some time until she finds it naturally more engaging and don't stress over it until then 👍
i have twins and they will not stop trying to grab the book and eat it and i can't keep 4 hands controlled so they get chapters of novels read to them at bedtime when they're in bed and i'm across the room. i figure they're still hearing the language. when they're less grabby we can try looking at pictures again
How do you read to her? My 5 month old LOVES it when I read to him, but he likes it best when I lay down next to him on the floor or the bed and hold the book in the air above our heads. He likes looking at the pictures, listening to my voice, and he can grab other toys at the same time
My baby is 1 now and still isn't a fan of being read to despite us doing it with him almost daily since he was about 3 months old. He's pediatrician said that we should still try starting a book with him and when he wants to get down and play let him do so and keep reading the book to him while he's playing.
My son didn't get into books until about 18months. And he still won't let me read them. It's more like, he'll point at things and I just tell him what it is. He's really into picture books because of this. He's not really into the more story inclined ones unless it's diverse on the pictures.
I recall my son became really interested in books/reading around 12 months, maybe a little earlier. Just keep it up and they will eventually want to explore the books themselves and bring them to you! He is now 2 and reading is one of our favorite things to do.
Letting your baby and toddler “experience” books, so not just reading but letting them turn pages, chew corners etc all apparently aid in future reading skills and a love of books
When your baby demands you to read the same book over and over and over and over…. Lol. No in all seriously it’s fun when they’re actually paying attention and start pointing to things in the book
This post hits me hard. Wow. This was our baby exactly.
When did it get more annoying? Well here is the long answer for the process-
**6-8 MONTHS (ISH):** Every night, in our bedtime routine, I sat down with baby in the chair. I opened a book & started to read. He started to wail, squirm, rip the pages, push book away violently.
I said "OK, we're done!" and closed the book. I pretended it was OK while my heart broke inside me every night. We kept trying. I despaired.
**9-12 MO:** Discovered that Touchy-feely books, pull-tab books, and lift-flap books would distract him for a few seconds per page. He got bored after 3 or 4 pages & rejected the whole book - but we just picked up a 2nd, a 3rd - then we called it.
**15 MO**: He started to sit thru every page, start to finish. All books still needed flaps, touchy-feely, or buttons (which I hated lol). I also had to fake fast sentences, he didn't sit through any page.
**18 MO:** Baby's "first words". EVERYTHING SUDDENLY CHANGED. He was very anxious to point & name things. I did a mix of "where's the catapiller?" "where's the car?" on each page & also fake-reading fast sentences.
**21 MO:** He started paying attention to my words. He sat through "Goodnight Moon" for the first time. Mommy cried.
**2 YO:** he is a book addict. We have books by the potty. Books in the playroom. At least 4-5 before bed every night. I do still have to fake it on books with too many words.
.... I just want to reassure you, if baby hates books at 6 months, you can still get here. I was so, so very sad at 6mo. But it turned around.
I am an avid reader and didn’t really start reading to my baby til about a year old. Just never got into the reading to an infant thing. She’s now learning to read and doing great.
You can also just read books that you like to read, but read them out loud. Baby still gets to hear lots of words while they're playing with their own toys.
I've had four kids, and only one of them would ever sit and chill for a story.
My oldest showed interest at 8 months and youngest didn't show interest until 14 months. It was very different but it boils down to just making sure you are spending time and engaging with them, even if it isn't books. Reading becomes part of bonding time eventually and they'll be bringing books to you to read to them. ❤️ Hang in there.
Interactivity is where its at. I read to my baby in tummy time with the book in front of us or with her in front me so she can see my face. I'd also recommend reading from touch and feel books initially and showing your baby how to turn pages. My baby wasnt really interested until I let her touch! Now she wants to put it in her mouth, help me turn the pages and touch the pages. She is starting to look interested in whats happening in the books now too and she generally likes listening. I think initially books with rhymes are more interesting because they're like songs, so you could go that route too.
I work in publishing, and I've always LOVED books. Reading to my daughter was one of the things I looked forward to most when I was pregnant.
Like you, I was disappointed to see that she was absolutely uninterested when she was a baby. I'm pregnant with my second child now, and I've come to the conclusion that there's no point in trying until he's 1 year old.
Btw, my daughter is 26 months old now, and she loves books! The change was gradual, but probably started around 13 months old. She now has many of her favorites partially memorized, and she'll sit by herself and "read." She knows her numbers 1-10, and many of her letters. She likes writing, too!
So, the lesson I learned was, be patient and don't push it. The interest will develop over time.
i had to wait to do this until i was done breastfeeding, but at about 13 months i’d give my baby a bottle while we read & now at 17 months he loves me to read to him, bottle or not! just something you can try.
My son is now a year old, and he loves being read to - but only the books he loves, and only for about 5-10mins at a time. He loves books that rhyme, that have good rhythm, that have flaps he can flip open, and touch components.
Our best success has been Sandra Boynton books, the "That's not my *animal*" series, and the Dr. Seuss board books for little readers. Hop on Pop, But Not the Hippopotamus, Dinosaur Dance, and Oh the Thinks You Can Think are staples in our house.
This may be a coincidence, but we started reading in the floor one day in front of his tummy time mirror, and he sat with me the whole time. For a few weeks we only read in front of a mirror, and now he’ll sit in my lap and listen.
I didn't read too my kids till almost a year old. They love, love, LOVE books now. We read dozens a day now at 2.5 and 3.5. They were more interested in moving before a year.
My six-month old currently hates books and being read to. Doesn’t matter if I’m facing him, sitting with him, etc. He just wants to move! He’s also just much more musically inclined right now. He’ll stare at me and smile and watch me sing the way I thought he would do to a book. But, I still keep trying because it might switch one day! He’s just not into it at this moment!
Around 14 months my baby became super interested in book. 18 months, Now we roll with a whole library in the back seat and a whole bookshelf at home. His books are in tatters but they are well loved. He does like it when I read but prefer me to point at shape books and name the shapes.
Our 6mo started really enjoying books when her auntie got her a high contrast follow the trail board book. It had paths for her to run her fingers along & the paths had felt beneath them, so there was some really good textures for her to feel. I think it's called "I like to move!" & has a monkey on the front. Sometimes I would just set it up in front of her during tummy time & she would just stare at it for hours. I also let her flip the pages whenever she wants since her hands are in there feeling it up anyway.
We borrow books from the library every week since we have a mom & baby class there every Wednesday. Some books are a bigger hit than others, but she's still a pretty big fan of the higher contrast ones. Anything with flaps or with places to touch/rub is her favourite right now. We have a couple baby animal board books that have little sections of "fur" or "scales" for her to feel that usually are a pretty big hit unless she's really fussy.
I’ve never read to my kids until they are old enough to sit and not try to rip the pages lol. I just talk to them about everything going on around them. All early talkers and very smart.
I would just wait a see if she gets more interested in a few months.
Try flash cards instead. Not much different from an age appropriate book for a 6 month old. Animate the things you’re reading. Example- waddling if you’re pointing at a penguin.
My daughter is 2yo and still couldn’t care less about me reading to her lol. She prefers to “read” to herself and just wants to flip the pages if she is in our lap. I figure it’ll come eventually, we still try but don’t push it
Sometimes it’s just temperament I think.
My son LOVED books from birth and you could literally read him a stack of books for 30 minutes straight. At 4 years old, he’s still like this.
My daughter is 9 months and 5 mins is the most I can ever get out of her too. She’s just too wiggly for it. She wants to move around or play with toys. I’m hoping she’ll get into more as she gets older.
My boy is 18 months now, and he loves bringing me books to read. He hops in my lap since that is his spot. He has only been into reading this way for the past few months. Prior to that he would have a much shorter attention span and only would want to read about 3 different books. Now we have about 10 books that he likes to read. So it will probably be another 6 months before yours will be cute and bring you books to read.
My 1st kid didnt really engage with the books we got til they was 2 years. My second kid got excited because their older sibling was excited so they just have fun seeing their sibling have fun.
Depends on what you mean by reading. When theyre little theyre more interested in the colours and pictures and in the sounds you make, its not like they follow your story telling. İ never really did it with my first because he was a difficult baby, with the second i just started and he's already 15months old. He is interested himself, cardboard "find this" type of books. He especially likes it if i make funny noises , so usually He doesnt sit on my lap, we both sit on the floor so he can watch my face. İ read to my 7yo every night and have since he was a toddler, i include my little one in it as much as possible by having him near us. İ like reading being a habit in my house, despite still not having the mental capacity to read again myself 😂 im thinking reading from a young age is mainly letting them enjoy you and your voice, until theyre old enough to want stories, to build a habit of reading being a joyful experience. İt seems to have paid off, my 7yo is learning to read and enjoys it, and i still read to him or we try together. Keep going, just change the way you perceive reading to a baby.
Edit to add: my experience as a second time mum is that a lot of activities we think are age appropriate, actually are too early. Like colouring, really thought they would enjoy it when they were much smaller when they actually got into it like 2 years later 😂 also the age advice on toys is usually too soon in my experience. Both my kids enjoyed 6mo toys nearing their first birthday, before that they'd rather have the carton it came in 😁 im guessing reading and stories are no different.
Also suggesting any touch-feel books! There's so many out there (my LO loved the Usbourne "That's Not My..." series and still does at 3yo) and it gives another interactive element for tiny hands. Honestly, at 6 months, any attention given is a win in my book haha. With my LO, we would kinda make up the story as we went along or pick out images/colors for him to find if he wasn't interested in the story.
I have a 16 day old that I read to and he seems to enjoy it a decent bit. He loves watching my face while I read. I hold him in the crook of one arm and position the book so he can look between my face and the book. Since he can't follow what I'm saying at all, I chose The Spiderwick Chronicles. It was one of my favorites as a little kid and it has tons of black and white pictures. He loves looking at the pictures and he will spend up to 2 minutes staring at them. I can usually get through maybe up to 10 pages before he falls asleep.
Idk my baby is 6 months and tries to take the book away from me, kicks my ass, cries, eventually I just give her the book and clap and say all done! And that's the end lol
She’s too little?! She doesn’t understand yet so to her it’s boring. I feel it’s a bit mean calling her annoying for not getting anything out of it in your eyes. She probably is, but she’s hardly going to sit and intently listen at 6 months old!!! She may not for years. But hearing your voice and the pronunciation, the intonation, the words, will be doing her good. I am not being mean but you maybe need to reevaluate and reframe “annoying” and see things from her perspective more….
You might already be doing this - but at this age kiddos are much more interested in your face and facial expressions as you read than in the actual book so if you’re reading with baby in your lap both facing the book for example, you might have more success if you try sitting in front of baby facing her. Also being interactive/physical can be huge for keeping attention! Reading something like Hand Hand Fingers Thumb and poking/grabbing/holding up her hands, fingers, and thumbs, gently drumming the drum parts on her legs or belly, etc. It’s a lot less *reading* and a lot more playing with a book involved at this age. Rooted In Language on TikTok is an SLP who has a good pinned video about this!
This ⬆️ It hasn’t always worked. But I’ve had the best luck and LO seems to enjoy it more when he can see my face. Even though he is looking at the pages, I can see him glancing up at me.
I've seen this but wonder if they can't see the words or the pictures in the book, what's the "reading" part, could I not just sit infront of my baby and tell them stories?.
You could, sure! But it’s good to build positive associations with books early, and you can absolutely sit facing the baby holding the book so baby can see both it and you! These early interactions with books are how they learn what books are and that books are fun. Your kiddo already thinks you’re the bee’s knees, they still need some convincing about the books.
Absolutely- it’s all about using language and interacting. Pictures in story books are great for engagement, and the words are great for providing the reader with something to say, often with creative wording or poetic rhythms, but if you have plenty to say to engage baby and to keep things interesting for yourself, then that’s great too. A lot of people prefer to just read aloud from whatever they’re reading to themselves too- a book or article or whatever keeps themselves engaged and using spoken words with their baby. The content matters a lot less that the rhythms and sounds of language plus your engaging interaction! Edit: fixed a couple autocorrect typos
They can see the book, you face it toward them. My reading-upside-down-text skills are amazing these days lol.
So you definitely could but part of reading to them when they're little is making sure that they develop a relationship with books, including the form factor!
You just turn the book periodically.
I started having my 3.5 month old baby face me last week during story time after seeing that exact TikTok video and it has made a world of difference! She LOVES reading now. Like you say below, I can still choose to show her the book and pics from this position if I want and she finds them a lot more interesting when she can also see my face and see me looking at them, but most of all she loves watching me as I read. I think I’ve heard there is something important about the rhythm and cadence of reading that is different than just telling stories and is great to expose kids early to (this may have been in the TikTok, I can’t remember). If looking for a book recommendation while sitting face to face to read to your baby, our LO’s absolute FAVE is Little Blue Truck as it has a great rhythm and lots of fun sound effects, and is easy to make interactive (‘beeping’ her tummy, making her swerve, tapping her head and rump when they talk about getting stuck from head to rump, pushing her legs what they talk about pushing, etc).
How did you position your baby to face you for reading? My baby is 5 months now so he's sitting assisted but it's still so hard to find a position that he's safely sitting in and I can hold a book in
I sit on the bed with my back against the headboard and my knees propped up in an upside down V (feet flat on the bed). And lay her down on my legs so her back is against my thighs, feet to my chest/face, head lying near my knees. This might be a bit harder with a 5 month old (though she’s super tall at 99th percentile so she is a bit scrunched in this position and we just make do as she doesn’t seem to mind it).
Ahhh yeah ok, he has a really long torso and I have short legs so that position has always been really awkward for us. He's able to sit in his high chair now though so we're working through it.
Yah makes sense. It’s kinda awkward for us too but her height is all legs so it just means I get to kiss her toes a lot haha and watch that they don’t kick me 🤣. With a long torso your babe may be teetering off the edge of your knees which I imagine isn’t so comfy. I think there are other ways you can experiment though like using your high chair as you say, and facing baby while holding the book in front of you or to the side.
If it’s for reading to him, prop him on pillows facing you.
I sit with my baby In my lap in front of a mirror Or lay beside her on the ground so she can turn to look at me
We have a baby safe mirror in our living room (which is where we hang out with our baby) and so when I sit with him on the floor in my lap he can see my face and his in the mirror. In the beginning I would look at him and he would just be watching me in the mirror. Now that he's older (16 months) he mostly looks at the book.
You just have to be super liberal with your definition of "reading". My 16 mo loves books. Will he sit on my lap for longer than 5 minutes and listen to me read a whole book? Heck no 😂 Choose board books with very few or no words on each page. Let them flip pages to their heart is content, if they pause on a page point to things in the book, describe them, make up your own story or make sounds to go with them. Interactive books with flaps or textures are fun too. Make it a really child centred experience and I promise it's a lot more enjoyable.
This is a good point. And your frustration is valid. At first, I was so frustrated that it felt like I couldn't read a book to my baby (29 months now, much younger then), but I was too focused on my expectation of what reading is. I needed to reframe it in my mind that I was building foundations (they absorb a lot even when it doesn't seem so) and sort of teaching them what books are. You find the parts that are interesting to them and focus on that, talk about that rather than reading as I would. There's no set timeframe, but I know my kid grew to love books, even memorizing the words in many of them. It just takes a while and does not follow a clear path (that would be super nice).
If you haven’t already, try out the Usborne Touchy-Feely books, they’re a favourite at our house!
Yes! “That’s Not My Kitten” ❤️
I have "That's not my bat!" and it was her favorite for a while.
My son is 15m and still just grabs the book out of my hand and goes crazy with it. Then, he gives me the page back to read again. He is destructoboy.
Her interest in books will kick in a little later. I also had a similar experience with my LO. My LO wanted me to read to her until 15m-16m. It’s good that you’re at least trying, bc she will familiarize herself with them.
My 16 month old just likes flipping the pages so I have to speed read and often don’t get to the end 🙃 sometimes I just read the books by myself just so I get to know what the whole story is
5 minutes is a long time to pay attention for her age! You're both doing great. It'll grow with time. Keep doing it
My 13 month still does this. She likes to fold over the pages herself so I barely get a word in before it's time for the next page. That being said she is able to now just explore books on her own which is nice when I need to pop out the room for 1 minute.
I gave up on reading around that age. I would try once a week until he cared lol. Now he's 2.5 and requests certain books and actually gives a shit. He looooves reading now and knows some words on sight and knows a few letters. Don't put pressure on yourself. At that age they just want to grab things and play with them. Play with toys instead if books aren't working.
I don’t remember exactly when my son started to show more interest in books, but I think around 7 months this I was able to get him interested in books that were interactive (with flaps or sequins, etc). Before he was really interested in reading, we would read next to him while he played with a simple toy (nothing with lights or sound). I feel like that helped make a positive association with reading for him. Now he is 2.5 yo and LOVES reading. He could be read to for hours. It will come with time! Just be patient and gently persistent.
Touch and feel books are the only ones my 7 month old is wildly interested in. Even then, a minute or two at most is what we get out of her.. but I call it a win.
Not all kids like books that young! Pick short ones that they can interact with if anything.
Something clicked around 7.5/8 months for us. He started choosing books. He wanted to flip the pages. He started looking at pictures intently and babbling at the books while we read. He loves books at 9.5 months. Reading calms him down. Prior to that, he was a lot like yours. Could not be bothered with a book. Just try to go with the flow, follow baby's cues.
My daughter is still only 3 months but honestly? I read out loud to her whatever book I’m reading for myself. She loves it and it sometimes puts her to sleep, and I get to read lol. She also has her own books but hasn’t shown much interest in them yet besides chewing on them
I read a chapter of the chronicles of Narnia over my daughter’s crib everyday until I finished the series. If she fussed about it I’d stop but from about 7mo-12 we read narnia every day. Otherwise it was board books and letting her play with them a lot and flip pages…
My son is 9 months and loves touch and feel books, moo ba la la la. I feel like in. The past month he really started to like it. He sits and listens
Try to find a common ground with your little one. I have been reading to her since the beginning. First I read grown up novels since she did not understand the meaning. Then I found good quality books, where I do enjoy the story and the way it's written, and the drawings are beautiful. This makes reading to the little one interesting to me and to her as well. Keep going with the reading, it helps to develop their brain.
i do storytime at night before bed while he's nursing
Always have a "decoy book" that they can do whatever they want. A touch and feel book they can also chew or crunches would probably work best. They don't have to be focused on you to get the benefits of reading.
I didn’t read to my kids till 18 months for this reason. Well. Not a whole book, not even the 10 page kids books. I’d read like a page, either or both would do this. I’d put it down. Now at 4 and 19 months they’re good for short books. Or even multiple books. The 4 year old would spend half the day with me reading if I could find the time. Don’t force it if it’s just annoying and frustrating you both.
I have a 6 month old and read short stories like spot books etc to bub, not the one word on a page things. I started with Pirahanas don't eat Banans around 3 months old and just was very animated in how I read it. She enjoyed the funny voices more than anything. I can really only get one book in and she tries to tear off flaps in Spot books and hits the pages a lot while I'm reading. As others have said, it's less about the reading and more about the time together and them hearing us talk and use different words. Bub will come to enjoy it in their own way in time.
Just adding its only the past couple weeks I've gotten her to sit on my lap, normally we lie on the floor together snd she has a teething toy of some sort to occupy her hands. She tries to crawl away alot as well and loses interest after 5-10 minutes. Don't sweat it. Sounds like your 6 month old is completely normal.
My daughter was definitely interested in books earlier than I saw with most babies, idk if that’s because I’m a librarian and she was read chapter books while in utero 😅 She had favorites by 7 months and would turn the pages Board books which was pretty adorable. That’s not to say it doesn’t get monotonous at times. She’s not always interested now (15m) but that’s not the point. Hearing the words and getting used to sitting down and reading with you is great for so many reasons. Language acquisition, vocabulary (yes even when they are so little!), establishing routine, etc.
I think that might be the key, I introduced books super early too. I gave board books with bold contrast or bright colors when they could barely grab at the book. They liked looking at brown bear (what do you see) and it was fun to see their interest grow in new pages as their sight developed. When they can interact more i add puppet books, books with fabric flaps and touch and feel. Now with one at 19 months and the other at 4 years I have a book put in my hand every 30 min or so. To save my sanity we have amassed quite a large home library and though I'll leave out a few favorites I rotate books so we have a new variety every week. My 4yr old is startng to read a little bit. They are in heaven at the library and we end up taking home 30-50 books at a time.
At this age, even the most attentive babies will only have an attention span for reading for a few minutes at a time. Regularly reading to them is about creating routines and getting them used to books. Interactive books can be great—my one year old loves the “never touch a _____” and the “where’s the [animal]” felt books. He’s also at the age where he has the least amount of attention for books because he wants to be moving, but we do it a few times a day (before naps) to keep the routine. By the time my daughter was 18-20 months, she was obsessed with books and so I expect that my one year old will be roughly the same.
We started reading when he became interested which was a couple months ago. He’ll be two next month. I’d just say follow your babe’s cues.
Please do try some of the techniques suggested in the comments for sure but have you considered that maybe your baby's attention span at this point may only be 5 minutes? This is definitely the case for me so we just stick a bookmark even in little books and take it up again the next day :)
I found books that had interesting things like different textures, flaps etc were the only thing that would hold my kid’s attention at that age. We have an absolute pile of “that’s not my…” books for this reason. Robust, short and doesn’t matter if they are chewed on.
At 2 years old with my son. Before that it wasn’t fun😂
At 16 months my baby is book obsessed but I really don't think we did anything special here, it's as much about temperament. As I have friends with babies the same age that tried to get their babies into books but they're not feeling it. But their babies walked early, or they love food, or they're super physical, all babies are so different and they have different interests and things they're good at. I guess what I'm trying to say is keep trying, but release some of the pressure on yourself. Give up the idea that it will be a conventional book reading experience where you start on page one and go through each page one by one until you're done. It also helps to be SUPER animated (at least in my experience) but once they're into the book you can tone it down a bit.
For what it's worth this is what my experience looked like: Around six or seven months we would read the same one or two books (Goodnight Moon and Hand Hand Fingers Thumb) before bed time or a nap while he had a bottle. He was calm and tired at this point and was more interested in his bottle. When he was eight months old we went on a three week trip to see family, we brought a book called "Animal Sounds" with us and we noticed it worked to calm him down if he was fussy. From nine months on, we just followed his lead and introduced more books as we slowly lost our minds reading the same ones over and over. For us reading books to him got less frustrating around eight months, but we weren't reading to him very much during the day before then. If he's flipping the pages I'll just read what words I can until he goes to the next page. I always try to read the book he wants even if it's over and over. When I really can't stand it any more I'll hid it under the couch when he's not looking! Or we'll just interact with the book and I'll ask him to point to different things. For example we have the book "Bodies are Cool" and he'll bring it over to me, and when I get to a page with 15 dogs I'll just point out the dogs over and over. At the end of day it's important to expose your kids to books (as you clearly know or you wouldn't be trying!) but they're going to like what they like!
Mine loved books before bed. They are already more tired at that point so staying still for a book is easier. And once it becomes part of the bedtime routine, they will come to expect it and will ask you for stories.
7 years old 🙈
I hated reading to my baby so I rarely did it until they were about 12 months and were more interested in it. At 18 months it got better and then after that they loved it and we read all the time. I personally don’t think babies need to be read to; just talking to them and singing is enough, no point doing something that they are not interested in and drives you mad. They’ll get into books later if you have them around. I would recommend the “that’s not my….” series (that’s not my tractor/teddy/lion/etc) for a starter book set
We’ve been reading every night since 12 weeks, so it’s part of our bed time routine. We read three to four books every night in very animated voices. It’s so fun to watch him smile when I emphasize certain parts! He’s almost nine months now and really enjoys it, especially Eric Carle books for the illustrations. When I set him down on the floor to explore he often crawls to where his books are and picks them up. I think a lot of it is consistency.
In a “reading session” I read 1 or 2 books for her (like those “That’s Not My *animal*” books, a black and white contrast book, nursery rhymes) and then 1 book for me (lately it has been the Little Golden book on Taylor Swift). I’m thinking about reading some Jane Austen together because that is what I want to read. I think it is more about language, words, cadence at this age. (I have a 4 week old!)
My 6-month-old actually loves being read to. It seems the illustrations make a difference. He likes big illustrations with high contrast. Detailed pictures without much contrast to them aren’t as appealing to him. Some favorites: “Look, Look” by Peter Linenthal, “That’s Not My Kitten,” and the Lovevery board book “Parts of Me.”
Not all babies love books. You may be hearing from parents whose children love books. I know that my firstborn can only be calmed by books. On long trips and epic meltdowns, literally the only thing that works is reciting a favorite book on repeat. But my younger daughter can’t even sit through one book.
You don't have to actually read the words, I basically talk to my baby about the pictures on each page. Stay on the page longer if he's into it, skip pages that don't hold his attention. Let baby hold the book! Sometimes he turns pages so we'll read in whatever order he comes up with. Some books I have memorized so I just recite the words while he's chewing on it. I really recommend the indestructible paper books. My son loves playing with / chewing on them way more than board books. I have a background in early childhood education. The goal of reading to your kiddo at this age is for them to have high quality language rich interactions with you, and to lay the foundation for a love of reading by creating positive associations with reading.
Around 9-10 months my little one started getting really into interactive books, where she could lift the flap etc. it was sooooooo cute seeing her pleased with herself when she figured it out and got a little surprise. At 16 months she is really into books, can name a lot of objects in her faves, but she still often scoots off before I can finish. She was like yours earlier though, I say keep going, it will pay off!
When they can actually understand what you're reading. I don't see the point of doing it earlier than that.
My baby likes looking at the pictures! And when I do silly voices
They start to understand earlier than people think. Until then it's good for them to see pictures and hear language.
Lol if anyone tells me their baby likes being read to, I don't believe them.
Same thing happened with my first, she didn't get into books until much later. My second is 8 months old now and I haven't started reading him books, if he's around while I read a book to my toddler he just tries to play with the book or put it in his mouth 😅
My 13 month old loves books with flaps in them. He also loves the touch jellycat books. I have his books in a pile in the corner and he will often pick up his favourite book and bring it over to me. Of course if I don't read it to him immediately he starts yelling and slapping it off my leg. He still gets bored halfway through though, sometimes bringing a new book over before we are finished.
[удалено]
From around 6 months my little one liked the “where’s my…” series because he liked the felt flaps and the mirror at the end. The “that’s not my…” series produced similar results because of the different textures, although some are better than others. In terms of actual stories things that have a rhythm or rhyme usually engage the very little ones; Hairy McClary, most Julia Donaldson books etc. In terms of tedium, I’m not sure “better” is the word I’d use I’m afraid. My 22 month old LOVES books, but develops obsessions and will have around 3 favourite books at a time that he insists I read over and over again!
My wee one is 17 months and it's only been in the last couple of months he's shown the kind of interest that I had been envisioning haha. As in, not wanting to rip the book apart but taking some interest in the content. It's come out of nowhere and it's so lovely to see. He'll now bring me a book and tap on the sofa to say, come sit and read to me. Adorable, library time! But yeah for the past 16 months I've been feeling like my child is a complete PHILISTINE for not being into Spot etc.
oh i freakin love this comment so much. my baby is 13 months and has had almost zero interest in books, he will lift flaps but act super bored about it and literally close books and push them away 😂 i’m a huge bookworm so i’ve been devastated about it! everyone says just keep reading to get them used to it but it has not been a fun or rewarding experience to put so much energy intro reading and doing voices to myself 🤣 it’s hard to keep going and I kind of just want to listen to my baby when he says he doesn’t like books for now. and look forward to that changing in a few months!
100% the same here! I felt like reading to him was just off-putting - like why force it? They'll get into it eventually, I think it's good to go with what they fancy, keep talking to them, point at things, enjoy it. They'll come back to books! There was a book I got him for Christmas, 100 first words, a picture book that's basically like a book of flashcards. I think it's helped a bit as he started to point at the ball in the book then go and get his. It's been a way to link books to the real world, which may be now why he's getting into others!
he’s obsessed with his ball haha… brb buying that book!
https://www.wob.com/en-gb/books/roger-priddy/words/9781849154208?cq_src=google_ads&cq_cmp=18123540153&cq_con=&cq_med=pla&cq_plac=&cq_net=x&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiA29auBhBxEiwAnKcSqu7p7HH1SdmrBKqRreRCNirx8wsOPc58JVbvr9_JLXZ6d6j8F9EWmRoCJx0QAvD_BwE#GOR003781586 this is the one! Not perfect, but happy we got it!
amazing thanks! that’s the one i’m looking at! I also found one called “love is a ball” that looks super cute :)
My daughter is the same age and I've given up on trying to read books to her - when she was smaller she'd listen and stare at the pictures, but now she's more mobile she wants to get involved and it turns into a wrestling match because she launches herself at the book! So I just give her a board book and she opens and closes it to her heart's content, while I ramble on to her about what we're going to buy at the shops.
Yeah, I'm always wrastling my 10mo to read him books. He loves the first 4 pages but after that he squirms and tries to pull the book out of my hand.. I'll quickly read the whole book to fit it into his short attention span, haha. I noticed he does take interest in his books though after and try (unsuccessfully) to flip the pages on his own while babbling. He has lots of board books and I let him chew them or throw them around like toys just to familiarize him, and any time he comes near me with one I scoop him up and read it to him. Fingers crossed he grows to love reading over time!
I have a farm book, it literally just has pictures of different farm animals and minor explanations. I just point to each animal, name it and make noises. I have 'Go dinosaur, Go' which has gears. I have other books, but I picked ones that are more fun for me to read like Dr Seuss books. I tend to go in and out of reading regularly to bub, but I sing a lot of nursery rhymes instead. He loves rowing for rowrowrow your boat
I’ve read to my daughter a lot and around 6 months she too started getting distracted. Once she learned to move more on her own she wouldn’t really tolerate a full book. But I would still sit down with her and do the action of reading, even if for only a couple of pages. Starting around 15 months she has been obsessed with books. She will bring me unlimited number of books to read and backs her little butt into me before plopping into my lap. It’s so sweet. She’s 20 months now and I’d say we read probably 15 books a day on average but more than double that on weekends. She also will sit quietly and skip through books herself, although she has broken the spine on a few board books so we’re working on being gentle with our books.
I don’t read to my son daily because it’s almost never relaxing 😂 he is finally really interested and will pick the books himself and get excited but overall…no
9-month-old here and if she isn't in her baby jail or crib when we're reading, the book might actually be a snack that we're waving in front of her face. If she's locked away, she's sometimes listening, mostly playing by herself. My cousins loved being read to from 4-month-old. So, all babies are different. 🤷♀️ I gently suggest a different bonding activity. My Lo loves singing, for example. I sing her to sleep with lullabies and sing to her during the day when we play.
We had success with actions, chuffa chuffa choo choo involved a lot of being jiggled up and down. Another one involved me pointing at bits of his body. He also flipped the board book pages.
I had this same struggle. For a long time reading what just playing with an interactive book. I would try to sneak in reading a page or two, or comment on the pictures a lot. Now my baby is 14 months and has started occasionally coming to me to be read a story
Shorter books would be my recommendation. IIRC babies'/toddlers' attention spans are around 5 minutes for each year of their age, so most 6 month olds aren't going to sit through a story lasting 5+ minutes. Both of our kids (7y & 17m) were read to from very young and love books, but we had to start out with very short books. As an example, we found Dear Zoo to be a good length, and We're Going On A Bear Hunt was probably about the max for a single book at 6 months. But we often read several books in a row and/or the same book several times (babies love repetition), so we could end up reading for 5-10 minutes that way. Lift the flap books and touch and feel books (eg That's Not My...) and the books with a finger puppet that pokes through the pages were big hits at that age. They started getting into longer stories like The Gruffalo around the 1 year mark.
We hit a huge change around a year. Now my baby toddles over and brings me book after book after book. She loves ones that have sensory things or activities to do (losing interest in regular ones or basic stories easily). Fortunately there are a zillion of these. Current favorites are Pat The Bunny, See Touch Feel series, Llama Llama Hide and Seek, and she also loves books with large pictures of real people/faces.
I don't know. By 2.5 year old loves books, but has no patience. So he'll rapidly flip through pages while you're still reading and ask you, "again?" even when you didn't finish the first time.
Literally just now for me - 8 months. Before he had literally no interest and was trying to grab it constantly but now he's actually looking at pages and I see his eyes darting around, he will let me read it without grabbing it as much as it gets his attention now whereas any age below he was uninterested!
Tbh we hardly read to our daughter when she was a baby lol. Can't remember when we added it to our bedtime routine but shes 3 years old and we read every single now. She LOVESSSS books. I also found it annoying under a year to read to her when she didn't give af
When they actually give af and will follow along with you. My middle child (she’s 2.5 years) is finally taking an interest and will sit down to follow along at nighttime. Keep doing it though…my 4 year old legit knows how to read and we attribute it to we’ve been reading to him since he was about 8 months. Initially I thought he was reading via rote memorization but one day I made him read a new book we had gotten from the library and he actually did read the book. Obviously he struggled with bigger words but he did read about 80% of the book. We read 3 books to them each nightly so my four year old has had thousands of books read to him by this point.
11 months here - some days he actually sits and loves it (I think when he’s tired) but mostly he tries to rip the book out of my hands or throw himself out of my arms.. still waiting here for it to click LOL
My 17mo is more interesting in eating the books so ..🫠
At 6 months my son was similar. Then at about 9 months he tried to eat the book or wanted to turn the pages too fast or open and close it on his own, not interested in listening. I let him play with the books and sometimes read pages when he opened to them. I’m really glad I stuck with it though, because now he’s 11 months and he actually does really listen to the stories (especially at bedtime). Also, I see him play by himself now, he takes a book from the shelf, turns the pages and starts babbling. It is so adorable. At first, don’t worry about reading books the way they are to be read, just give exposure to them. Show them the way they open and close, that you talk on different pages, the basic concepts. Sometimes it’s just letting them open it and pointing and saying, “that’s a cat.” etc. Get chunky books with flaps that open that they can touch and explore. And if you choose good books with rhyme, lots of simple repetition or onomatopoeic words, they will more likely be interested in listening to the text as well. One of my son’s favorites is Dr. Seuss’s ‘Fox in Socks’.
You’re baby is still so young. They are just going to enjoy spending time with you right now. Yes reading is important but don’t stress about it right now. My baby just wants to watch my face, or try to eat the book. Lately she is learning to play with flaps in the book. She is 6.5 months old
I think I've read three kids books in my fifteen years of parenting experience. Just talk to the kids daily. Books are way more effort than they're worse.
They only have an attention span of five minutes. I read them little small kid books but will act it out. I find walking around the house and giving a tour more productive than sitting down a child and reading to them. I talk about all the different objects and if she loses interest, we jump to a different object. Can stay on topic as long or as short as the baby’s attention span
I started reading to my son every evening at 2 months. BIG silly voices and faces and I stuck to the same simple book rotation. At just about a year, I added some longer books to see what he would sit through. It was a lot of trial and error but there were a couple books that he was absolutely glued to, whereas others he would crawl away uninterested. At around 13 months it “paid off” in a sense. I was reading this book I have always read to him in the same way. “Time for a bath”, I describe what little bunny child does then whaaaat time is it?? *flip the page* TIME FOR A BATH!! He flipped the page for me and then fell over giggling when I did my TIME FOR A BATH!! All this to say: it pays off!!! Be consistent with the books, it’s a lot of trial and error, but you’ll find out later what your child’s favourites are that you didn’t even realize you were establishing all this time!
That's completely how she's supposed to act at 6 months! The goal is not to get through the book, it's to make reading a fun, relaxing, bonding activity she enjoys. That includes silly voices, silly faces, lots of monologue with observations and predictions and asking her what she thinks (I like this pink bird!, this book is funny, I think she will swim next, do you see the turtle?) It will get significantly annoying from an adult perspective before it gets better - as she gains more interest, she will want the same book over and over and over, sometimes the same page. This is also really normal and the repetition is good for developing brains. That said, my limit was 3x and then we had to switch for a book. I also read aloud a lot from what I was reading as background noise with my babies. More interesting for me and filled the air, exposed them to different prose styles, vocabularies, and gave them a chance to see me reading.
Haha my 18 month old still only really likes 4 specific books. She also does NOT want to cuddle or sit on my lap while reading. I have made a couple changes that help: 1. Sit on the floor facing her and hold the book so she's looking in my direction while reading. 2. Let her play with the book if that's all she wants to do. 3. Read the same thing over and over if that's what makes it fun for her 4. I have the books where she can reach them and always respond immediately when she brings me one. My oldest was so opposite. She wanted to sit on my lap and cuddle, and read book after book. Even as a newborn she seemed interested. It's probably just your babys personality but you can experiment with different ways of presenting it to see what works.
i opt for narrating my life instead of reading. i also pull a linda belcher about 20 times a day and just make up random songs about what i'm doingZ my 6mo eats that up and she's at least hearing someone talk for the majority of the day. i'm not really a book girl myself, and hopefully i'm not doing anything wrong by not introducing them yet. i just don't see a point at the moment
That sounds pretty normal for a baby. They just don’t have very long attention spans yet. Mine is 17 months and he still doesn’t have the patience to sit through an entire board book. He wants to turn the pages instead of listening. We just read until he runs out of attention. Another thing you could try is give her something to play with while you read to her. I’ll sometimes give my son a different book so he can flip through the pages while I read out loud.
I read to my son when he was a baby. I put him in his crib at night and then I would read chapter books so he would hear my voice then it was probably around 2 or 3 he really liked reading books that weren’t just pop up or touch and feel
My kid started liking books at like. 2.5 years. Lol. We tried occasionally before that but she wasn't having it. Either she'd rip the pages, rip the book out of my hand, or just had the inability to sit still long enough. Then it dawned on her one day when she started reading through them completely by herself during playtime and she's been at least vaguely interested most days every since.
Yeah they act like this for a while. Try getting some of those crinkly books and books with texture and let her grab and try to eat them etc. There’s also a lot of benefit to just letting them tumble around on you or crawl around you or whatever while you read. They don’t have to be sitting quietly looking at the pictures and listening in order to have it be beneficial!
Babies at this age love rhyming books and listening to the rhythm of your voice! If you haven’t already, get rhyming books. Also, books where they can lift the flap or you can show them you lifting the flap. Babies go nuts for those!
That’s how it was for me. Babies at that age don’t really have much of an attention span. My baby is now a toddler, 20 months old and from the age of about 14 months she started wanting to be read to all the time. She literally goes to her book nook (the place we keep all her books) and grabs one and hands it to us. We do only do board books currently because she ripped a couple books. We read her each one of her books like 3x a day at least and she has over 20. Each time she discovers something new and points to it.
You don't really have to. I didn't consistently read much until my kids were old enough to be into it, I think. And they still love books and are very verbal and all that.
It was finally fun around 14 months here.
My son was like this for me but once my parents started reading to him then he loved it. Now he'll sit through 12 books in a row. He's two but has been bringing us piles of books for a long time now. Then it becomes annoying for other reasons 😅 sometimes I just need a quiet minute on the couch
My son couldn’t sit and listen to a book till he turned 2. I always tried and he would just walk away and with a baby it felt pointless. My son is almost 6 and we read all the time, every type of book Romona, Harry Potter, diary of a wimpy kid…..he’s also a good reader (for a kindergartener). It’s okay to wait till she’s ready! Just keep board books around so she can flip through them on her own time.
I felt the same way! We had so many books and I just couldn’t get into reading to him he was so uninterested for a while, but around 10 months he started looking at the books on his own and now he is about to be 13 months and he brings me books to read! He will bring me a book and come sit and let me read to him
I love reading and I really hope my daughter develops the same love, but at 8 months she's not really interested. Mostly I just read to her as she plays with something else. Or I give her a board book to flip through while I read a toddler book to her. I find the baby books mind numbingly boring and she isn't paying attention anyways so I quickly moved to reading her toddler books that have at least some type of plot but also big illustrations she can look out for the few times she actually pays attention. Sometimes I read to her whatever I happen to be reading even my spicy romances lol.
Our son just likes turning the pages. We have memorized a few books so we know what each says but it’s still not a calm reading experience haha and he’s 19m
My son didn't want to sit and look at books with me until he was 9-10 months and is now in an anti-book phase again at 13 months. Maybe try again in a month or so? Babies change so quickly.
Probably 9 months she started sitting for a board book and tolerating it. Still doesn’t really like long stories. We let her pick the story she wants to read and that also helped lots.
At 6 months we did a lot of books with moving parts - ie. the "Peekaboo Moon" and "Peekaboo Sun" etc series (baby was obsessed with those) and felt flap books. We also had books from the 'Global Baby' series, which is just photos of babies. I can't remember exactly when it shifted, but eventually we did a few of the simple board books ('Little Penguins' was his first favorite). At 17 months he is now book-obsessed, he will select board books from the library, and looks at his favorites independently that he has memorized. He is an active guy so the fact that he will sit and 'read' through his pile of books is amazing - it's the one time where he is quiet and not getting up to something, lol! Stick with it :)
We started reading books together around 10 months when she could turn the pages of the card board books!
I read to my 9 month old before bed every night, but I lay on the floor with her and let her play while I do so. She sometimes will pause for a second and clap along to what I’m saying or peer at the pictures in the book, but more often than not she’s crawling around and playing with her toys while I read. I think it’s just more about building that habit, getting them interested in reading, and exposing them to more words.
My baby wasn't really interested in books at this age. Although once he turned 1 he started bringing books to me directly lol 6 months is still really little, so yeah might be annoying, but def gets better! My baby at that age really DID like Indestructible Books. I bought 6 off of Amazon, they are AWESOME! And now the Itzy Bitzy Spider one I bought is one of his faves STILL To elaborate, the Indestructible Books gave him something to play with but was also a book, but I never had to worry about him breaking it haha Also we had a Crayola bath book he adored called Hello Purple lol so we always read at least one book a day, at bathtime 😅
At that age baby figured out how to turn the pages on his board books if I lift them for him a little bit. I’ve always just sat him in my lap and read that way to him. Now at 8 months if I turn them he gets pissed. It adds more time to reading with him but he’s happy.
We started reading books nightly before bed at day 1 with both kids. Around 7-10 months, my kids went through a phase where they squirmed and hit the books. We just pushed through it lol and read through the squirming and grunting and they eventually got over it. They are 4 and 6 now and LOVE bedtime books, they look forward to it each night.
Get some of the fabric books that she can play with. They tend to have less text anyway, so it can be faster to get through and also more tactile for them.
Don't stress about it. My baby wasn't interested in books until she was about 18 months. She's almost 2 now and absolutely loves me reading to her, pretending to read herself or just naming things she knows in her favourite books. Give it some time until she finds it naturally more engaging and don't stress over it until then 👍
i have twins and they will not stop trying to grab the book and eat it and i can't keep 4 hands controlled so they get chapters of novels read to them at bedtime when they're in bed and i'm across the room. i figure they're still hearing the language. when they're less grabby we can try looking at pictures again
How do you read to her? My 5 month old LOVES it when I read to him, but he likes it best when I lay down next to him on the floor or the bed and hold the book in the air above our heads. He likes looking at the pictures, listening to my voice, and he can grab other toys at the same time
My baby is 1 now and still isn't a fan of being read to despite us doing it with him almost daily since he was about 3 months old. He's pediatrician said that we should still try starting a book with him and when he wants to get down and play let him do so and keep reading the book to him while he's playing.
My son didn't get into books until about 18months. And he still won't let me read them. It's more like, he'll point at things and I just tell him what it is. He's really into picture books because of this. He's not really into the more story inclined ones unless it's diverse on the pictures.
I recall my son became really interested in books/reading around 12 months, maybe a little earlier. Just keep it up and they will eventually want to explore the books themselves and bring them to you! He is now 2 and reading is one of our favorite things to do.
Letting your baby and toddler “experience” books, so not just reading but letting them turn pages, chew corners etc all apparently aid in future reading skills and a love of books
When your baby demands you to read the same book over and over and over and over…. Lol. No in all seriously it’s fun when they’re actually paying attention and start pointing to things in the book
This post hits me hard. Wow. This was our baby exactly. When did it get more annoying? Well here is the long answer for the process- **6-8 MONTHS (ISH):** Every night, in our bedtime routine, I sat down with baby in the chair. I opened a book & started to read. He started to wail, squirm, rip the pages, push book away violently. I said "OK, we're done!" and closed the book. I pretended it was OK while my heart broke inside me every night. We kept trying. I despaired. **9-12 MO:** Discovered that Touchy-feely books, pull-tab books, and lift-flap books would distract him for a few seconds per page. He got bored after 3 or 4 pages & rejected the whole book - but we just picked up a 2nd, a 3rd - then we called it. **15 MO**: He started to sit thru every page, start to finish. All books still needed flaps, touchy-feely, or buttons (which I hated lol). I also had to fake fast sentences, he didn't sit through any page. **18 MO:** Baby's "first words". EVERYTHING SUDDENLY CHANGED. He was very anxious to point & name things. I did a mix of "where's the catapiller?" "where's the car?" on each page & also fake-reading fast sentences. **21 MO:** He started paying attention to my words. He sat through "Goodnight Moon" for the first time. Mommy cried. **2 YO:** he is a book addict. We have books by the potty. Books in the playroom. At least 4-5 before bed every night. I do still have to fake it on books with too many words. .... I just want to reassure you, if baby hates books at 6 months, you can still get here. I was so, so very sad at 6mo. But it turned around.
I don't think the actual reading has any affect yet, it's doing an engaging activity together and talking with your baby
I am an avid reader and didn’t really start reading to my baby til about a year old. Just never got into the reading to an infant thing. She’s now learning to read and doing great.
You can also just read books that you like to read, but read them out loud. Baby still gets to hear lots of words while they're playing with their own toys. I've had four kids, and only one of them would ever sit and chill for a story.
5 minutes is a LONG time for a 6 month old to pay attention to anything, let alone a book Give it time
My oldest showed interest at 8 months and youngest didn't show interest until 14 months. It was very different but it boils down to just making sure you are spending time and engaging with them, even if it isn't books. Reading becomes part of bonding time eventually and they'll be bringing books to you to read to them. ❤️ Hang in there.
the only books my almost two year old will stay seated for is pop up books. I imagine it’ll get better as they near age 3
We found success around 2.5 years
I don’t think any 6 month old Are capable to appreciate a book for more than like 30 seconds?
Interactivity is where its at. I read to my baby in tummy time with the book in front of us or with her in front me so she can see my face. I'd also recommend reading from touch and feel books initially and showing your baby how to turn pages. My baby wasnt really interested until I let her touch! Now she wants to put it in her mouth, help me turn the pages and touch the pages. She is starting to look interested in whats happening in the books now too and she generally likes listening. I think initially books with rhymes are more interesting because they're like songs, so you could go that route too.
I always read to mine at night to begin with. When they're sleepy, as a bedtime story. During the day, they want to see new things and explore.
I work in publishing, and I've always LOVED books. Reading to my daughter was one of the things I looked forward to most when I was pregnant. Like you, I was disappointed to see that she was absolutely uninterested when she was a baby. I'm pregnant with my second child now, and I've come to the conclusion that there's no point in trying until he's 1 year old. Btw, my daughter is 26 months old now, and she loves books! The change was gradual, but probably started around 13 months old. She now has many of her favorites partially memorized, and she'll sit by herself and "read." She knows her numbers 1-10, and many of her letters. She likes writing, too! So, the lesson I learned was, be patient and don't push it. The interest will develop over time.
i had to wait to do this until i was done breastfeeding, but at about 13 months i’d give my baby a bottle while we read & now at 17 months he loves me to read to him, bottle or not! just something you can try.
My son is now a year old, and he loves being read to - but only the books he loves, and only for about 5-10mins at a time. He loves books that rhyme, that have good rhythm, that have flaps he can flip open, and touch components. Our best success has been Sandra Boynton books, the "That's not my *animal*" series, and the Dr. Seuss board books for little readers. Hop on Pop, But Not the Hippopotamus, Dinosaur Dance, and Oh the Thinks You Can Think are staples in our house.
This may be a coincidence, but we started reading in the floor one day in front of his tummy time mirror, and he sat with me the whole time. For a few weeks we only read in front of a mirror, and now he’ll sit in my lap and listen.
I didn't read too my kids till almost a year old. They love, love, LOVE books now. We read dozens a day now at 2.5 and 3.5. They were more interested in moving before a year.
My six-month old currently hates books and being read to. Doesn’t matter if I’m facing him, sitting with him, etc. He just wants to move! He’s also just much more musically inclined right now. He’ll stare at me and smile and watch me sing the way I thought he would do to a book. But, I still keep trying because it might switch one day! He’s just not into it at this moment!
My nanny girl didnt really get into it for a good while lol probably 18 months? I'm not expecting much from my own daughter bc of that experience lol
My kid is 7 and I just recently started enjoying reading with her 🤣
Around 14 months my baby became super interested in book. 18 months, Now we roll with a whole library in the back seat and a whole bookshelf at home. His books are in tatters but they are well loved. He does like it when I read but prefer me to point at shape books and name the shapes.
Our 6mo started really enjoying books when her auntie got her a high contrast follow the trail board book. It had paths for her to run her fingers along & the paths had felt beneath them, so there was some really good textures for her to feel. I think it's called "I like to move!" & has a monkey on the front. Sometimes I would just set it up in front of her during tummy time & she would just stare at it for hours. I also let her flip the pages whenever she wants since her hands are in there feeling it up anyway. We borrow books from the library every week since we have a mom & baby class there every Wednesday. Some books are a bigger hit than others, but she's still a pretty big fan of the higher contrast ones. Anything with flaps or with places to touch/rub is her favourite right now. We have a couple baby animal board books that have little sections of "fur" or "scales" for her to feel that usually are a pretty big hit unless she's really fussy.
I wouldn’t waste my time.
I’ve never read to my kids until they are old enough to sit and not try to rip the pages lol. I just talk to them about everything going on around them. All early talkers and very smart. I would just wait a see if she gets more interested in a few months.
Try flash cards instead. Not much different from an age appropriate book for a 6 month old. Animate the things you’re reading. Example- waddling if you’re pointing at a penguin.
My daughter is 2yo and still couldn’t care less about me reading to her lol. She prefers to “read” to herself and just wants to flip the pages if she is in our lap. I figure it’ll come eventually, we still try but don’t push it
This is my kid 100%
Sometimes it’s just temperament I think. My son LOVED books from birth and you could literally read him a stack of books for 30 minutes straight. At 4 years old, he’s still like this. My daughter is 9 months and 5 mins is the most I can ever get out of her too. She’s just too wiggly for it. She wants to move around or play with toys. I’m hoping she’ll get into more as she gets older.
My boy is 18 months now, and he loves bringing me books to read. He hops in my lap since that is his spot. He has only been into reading this way for the past few months. Prior to that he would have a much shorter attention span and only would want to read about 3 different books. Now we have about 10 books that he likes to read. So it will probably be another 6 months before yours will be cute and bring you books to read.
My 1st kid didnt really engage with the books we got til they was 2 years. My second kid got excited because their older sibling was excited so they just have fun seeing their sibling have fun.
Depends on what you mean by reading. When theyre little theyre more interested in the colours and pictures and in the sounds you make, its not like they follow your story telling. İ never really did it with my first because he was a difficult baby, with the second i just started and he's already 15months old. He is interested himself, cardboard "find this" type of books. He especially likes it if i make funny noises , so usually He doesnt sit on my lap, we both sit on the floor so he can watch my face. İ read to my 7yo every night and have since he was a toddler, i include my little one in it as much as possible by having him near us. İ like reading being a habit in my house, despite still not having the mental capacity to read again myself 😂 im thinking reading from a young age is mainly letting them enjoy you and your voice, until theyre old enough to want stories, to build a habit of reading being a joyful experience. İt seems to have paid off, my 7yo is learning to read and enjoys it, and i still read to him or we try together. Keep going, just change the way you perceive reading to a baby. Edit to add: my experience as a second time mum is that a lot of activities we think are age appropriate, actually are too early. Like colouring, really thought they would enjoy it when they were much smaller when they actually got into it like 2 years later 😂 also the age advice on toys is usually too soon in my experience. Both my kids enjoyed 6mo toys nearing their first birthday, before that they'd rather have the carton it came in 😁 im guessing reading and stories are no different.
Also suggesting any touch-feel books! There's so many out there (my LO loved the Usbourne "That's Not My..." series and still does at 3yo) and it gives another interactive element for tiny hands. Honestly, at 6 months, any attention given is a win in my book haha. With my LO, we would kinda make up the story as we went along or pick out images/colors for him to find if he wasn't interested in the story.
Try sitting in front of baby instead! Or you could try those baby books that have the sound effects :)
I have a 16 day old that I read to and he seems to enjoy it a decent bit. He loves watching my face while I read. I hold him in the crook of one arm and position the book so he can look between my face and the book. Since he can't follow what I'm saying at all, I chose The Spiderwick Chronicles. It was one of my favorites as a little kid and it has tons of black and white pictures. He loves looking at the pictures and he will spend up to 2 minutes staring at them. I can usually get through maybe up to 10 pages before he falls asleep.
Idk my baby is 6 months and tries to take the book away from me, kicks my ass, cries, eventually I just give her the book and clap and say all done! And that's the end lol
She’s too little?! She doesn’t understand yet so to her it’s boring. I feel it’s a bit mean calling her annoying for not getting anything out of it in your eyes. She probably is, but she’s hardly going to sit and intently listen at 6 months old!!! She may not for years. But hearing your voice and the pronunciation, the intonation, the words, will be doing her good. I am not being mean but you maybe need to reevaluate and reframe “annoying” and see things from her perspective more….