I would love to give my granddaughter books to look at but all she wants to do is chew them. I can't even read them to her, she is so antsy. She is 20 months old.
Thank you for all your suggestions. I am going to buy some books that she can't "eat"! I will keep reading to her every chance I get! I will let you know how we are doing! I love this site.
Kids that age like the fabric paged books, texture-y pages, etc. Read to her anyway even if she seems like she's not paying attention--that's a great way to give a child a foundation for language! Also, check out baby flashcards --like animals, etc. Baby Einstein makes some cute ones.
You granddaughter is lucky to have a Grandma that can spend this time with her! being antsy means she is hitting her developmental milestones and her brain is truly a sponge so this is the absolute best time to read to her. even if she squirms away....keep reading. The below posts gave some great ideas. we have found TJ Maxx/Marshalls to be a great resource for inexpensive books and seem to have a very good toddler/baby selection. The plastic bathtime books are great too. magazines under your supervision (especially with pictures of kids and animals) are great. there is also a toy called my first story reader that has plastic books and all kinds of interactions for the moments when you want them to occupy themselves. My mom also taped herself reading my daughter a story and we played it for my daughter (now 28 mos) when we changed her. It was such a hit that now when we go to see Grandma, she collects and brings books with her to Grandma's house becuase she wants to do is have Grandma read her a stories. it wound up being their special thing. good luck and congrats on being a Grandma :-)
Completely normal. She is learning through all her senses, not just reading a book like adults do. :)
When my son was constantly chewing the corners off all of his books, we picked up one vinyl book and about 3 fabric books. He used those pretty exclusively for a couple months, in order for us to prevent further destruction to his board books. We only used the board books under close supervision or when my husband and I were reading to him. Eventually he figured out that he could have the special books (the non-vinyl and non-cloth ones) if he kept them out of his mouth and now at 31 months, he is responsible even with books with regular paper pages.
Give her time and keep reading to her...then give her safe books to use on her own. Encourage her to explore those safe books!
Oh I completely understand you! My daughter did the same thing. Almost all her books are chewed. she is now 25 months old and she would rather flip pages then chew. just give it time. :)
Get some plastic or cloth books and let her chew away on them. At least she's showing some interest in them which is a good thing. She'll grow out of wanting to eat them and start to look at them with you.
So, perhaps a cold clean washcloth for her to Teeth on will give her the alternative to chewing on books. I hope you eventually enjoy having her on your lap and reading....
get interactive books that squeak, or have "touch" pages where she can feel different textures
