Hi Ladies! I have been reading to my 16 month old DS since he was probably 8 months old or so and he has always enjoyed. I always made time to do this first thing in the morning so that it wasn't overlooked during the day. That way, if we got more in, then great, but if my preschooler's schedule messed things up, no biggie. My baby had gotten to the point that he would run over to the book case in the morning, pick a book or two, bring them back to me, climb up in my lap, and we would read.
But lately, he doesn't really do that so much any more. He goes to the bookcase and sometimes will pick out a book, but I can't get him to stay in my lap to read AT ALL anymore. He just wants to run around and play and look out at the snow. So I wind up just sitting there by myself reading and he doesn't see anything that I'm reading about!
Is this what has happened to you? Do I just keep reading anyway, even though he's playing with other things in the room? should I just put the book down for later?
Let him play - when he's ready to sit and let you read to him, he'll let you know. Trying to force it will just make him not want you to read to him, and you don't want that.
We always sat at night and read.
I would shorten stories and turn two or three pages at a time to read another book.
And mine too still love to be read to and my youngest is 10.
Even if children don't see the book, they greatly benefit from hearing the language of books. A huge and overlooked indicator of school success is the number or spoken words a child hears by the time he enters kindergarten. The most successful children hear millions more words by the time they start school. So, keep on reading even if he's not looking.
I would try doing it at night when he is a little too tired to run around. The sad thing is about kids is that you may have a wonderful tradition and all the sudden its gone. They grow out of it or it doesn't work in anymore. And you wished that you would have cherished the last time that you did it. Like baths-my oldest son one day asked for a shower and I said sure. Well-he never went back to baths and I didn't realize it at the time the night before that I had given him his last.
I was involved in Parents as Teachers, they came every month and it was GREAT- they advised me to continue to read, because at that age, they are just busy. IT DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE, even if they are running around. You could also add a book before bedtime, when he is a little more focused. But I would continue to read, he is paying attention, even though he may not be obvious about it.
Yes, I've read to my son since he was very young. He would also go to the book case and pick out books and sit in my lap. He would also flip through the books himself. Now he only wants to read before bed. If I try to read to him he says "we read at bedtime." I guess he has better things to do now lol so I just try to make sure we get in at least 20 minutes every night.
I have been teaching children for 30 years and this is very normal for a 16 month old. They are expanding their horizons and sitting still is very hard for them. I would suggest reading before nap time. This will accomplish 2 goals. It will relax your child and further the love of reading.
Children's interest are constantly changing. Also, their daily routines change as they get older.
A few suggestions...
try making reading time during a different time of the day
even if he doesn't want to sit on your lap, try to get him to sit still and listen as you read
give it a break for a week
continue to read, or pretend that you are reading, just pick up the book and flip the pages so he learns that reading is an important part of your day
I remember quietly panicking at the short attention span for reading that my son had. I was luck to get out one word per page before he wanted to flip the page (action - him DOING). Fast forward to the 3's and he was way more open to reading -- especially when he thought that it delayed bedtime. Now at 7 he LOVES us reading together and we do chapter books.
Boys can be active and his lull in interest for reading will pass.
