How do you read to a wiggly toddler with a short attention span?

[extendedforecast]

I want to read more to my son, but he doesn't seem very interested at this age. He'd rather flip the pages until he gets tired, then run away and find something more interesting to do. I have lots of board books with pictures for him to look at, board books with a story included, and regular picture books that I rarely try to read to him for fear that he will rip the pages. Any ideas?

 

Thanks,

Cindy

[Mrs Mungo]

I think a lot of it is in how you read. One day, when my son was little, he told a friend of mine that Goodnight Gorilla was his favorite book. She didn't see how that could be a favorite book, especially since it has no words. She insisted that I read it in her presence. Apparently, my telling differed greatly from her own. That said, kids can play with blocks while you read and short books are better for littles.

[mombygrace]

At that age I let them play with a quiet toy like trains, cars etc while I read. I had a small tub of little cars, animals etc for that purpose. We usually read in the play area, on the floor, during meals, bath time and just about any time I had them reasonably confined :001_smile:

[Tohru]

I don't actually read a whole story to my 2yo dd.

 

She sits in my lap, we open the book and I read the page she has turned to or I make comments about the picture. Most the time she will turn the page before I'm done reading it, however she will sit longer if I just make comments about the pictures. We just have a "conversation" about the pictures on the page and she turns to the next one. Overall, it lasts about 2-3 minutes, max.

[AuntieM]

I ask lots of questions to make it interactive. Oh, the gorilla is playing with the red ball. Can you show me the red ball? Would you have fun playing with a ball like that? You get my drift...

 

I agree with Mrs M. Use a VERY animated voice. That will make it fun for both of you.

 

Also, I'd keep it to short time limits. Eighteen months is young! Be sure your expectations are realistic.

[katemary63]

I ask lots of questions to make it interactive. Oh, the gorilla is playing with the red ball. Can you show me the red ball? Would you have fun playing with a ball like that? You get my drift...

 

I agree with Mrs M. Use a VERY animated voice. That will make it fun for both of you.

 

Also, I'd keep it to short time limits. Eighteen months is young! Be sure your expectations are realistic.

 

:iagree:

[NanceXToo]

Read to him while he's in the bath. Or in his crib/bed at night. Or while he's sitting down and eating his breakfast/lunch/dinner. Or while you're in the car, if someone else is driving.

 

You know, places where he can't run away from you lol.

[Giraffe]

Read to him while he's in the bath. Or in his crib/bed at night. Or while he's sitting down and eating his breakfast/lunch/dinner. Or while you're in the car, if someone else is driving.

 

You know, places where he can't run away from you lol.

 

Or read while he's running around. I do that sometimes with DD - she's just got too much energy to sit still but she wants to hear the story. So I read, animated, and sometimes she comes and sits with me, sometimes she doesn't. Sometimes I give up. If she protests, I'll go back to reading - and I know then that she's listening.

[lynn]

I would read to my son while he played in his room in the afternoon. He'd play, I'd read and once in a while he'd come over to study the pictures then be off again.

[Plucky]

My youngest son was like this. I would fill the bathtub and give him toys to play with while I read. He loved baths and was able to enjoy listening to me read.

[Crimson Wife]

I didn't think my DS liked books as a toddler until I discovered that he LOVED non-fiction books about trucks, trains, airplanes, etc. After a while, he branched out into fictional stories about vehicles (i.e. Thomas the Tank Engine). Finally, at about 3 1/2, he branched out in his interests.

 

As I was reading the zillionth book on vehicles, I kept reminding myself that I was doing it for his benefit, not mine. ;)

[Karen in CO]

With enthusiam! so that you are the more interesting thing. And Sandra Boynton helps alot. My youngest is 5 and will listen to long stories now, but she still chooses a Boynton book some days. Snuggle Puppy is terrific for this age. And there is a reason for those board books.

[T'smom]

My 2yo ds LOVES the books that aren't really stories, but pictures that are labeled. The 2 we've been looking at the most lately are My First Book of Things That Go and 1001 Things to Spot in the Sea. He loves fish and vehicles. He likes to know what the labels are and to talk about what colors things are, count them, etc. His attention span has increased dramatically in just the last couple of months- I remember when I used to think he'd never listen to a whole book and now sometimes I inwardly groan at the huge stack that he wants read to him!