Is there value in audio books as background noise?

[4KookieKids]

We used to listen to audio books all the time around here. In the car, at home, all over. When I had only one or two kids, I feel like it was fun and fairly manageable to get kids involved in a quiet activity so we could all listen in peace. But now there are four of them ages six and under, and they don't like holding still, or refraining from talking, or the baby starts jabbering nice and loud at random points. So I usually turn the books off when things get noisy, but the end result is that they're very often off most of the time these days.

 

So I'm wondering if there's any benefit to just leaving them on anyway. Do kids still get anything from stories (even just enjoyment?) If they're only hearing broken bits of the stories? Or should I continue to save audio books for when they can be a little more focused in their listening? (Maybe in ten years! :P lol)

Edited June 23, 2016 by deanna1ynne

[Tranquility7]

That is a great question...

 

We listen to *loads* of audiobooks around here, so I'll tell you what we do, FWIW. I have a DS10, DD6, and DD2. 

 

Personally, I would not play an audiobook when my kids are noisy. Noise drives me CRAAAAZY, and an audiobook would 1) add to the noise, and 2) encourage my kids to talk even LOUDER over it. That would drive me nuts, so no, in our house, we do not listen to audiobooks when I am in the room and my kids are noisy.

 

If I am *not* in the room (and they are not doing schoolwork), technically they can turn on whatever audiobook they want and be as loud as they want, LOL. Though I wouldn't generally encourage having an audiobook on when no one is able to listen to it; I think it would just contribute to higher stress for everyone, and I think it could teach kids how to "tune out" the audiobook, and that is probably not something you want to teach (at least I don't). My kids generally don't bother to turn on an audiobook in a loud environment.

 

Also FWIW, I bought classic iPods on eBay for DS10 (when he was 7) and DD6 (when she was 4) and put docking stations in their bedrooms, the kitchen, den, schoolroom, and playroom. I load up their iPods with oodles of audiobooks and music, and they can put on what they want, whenever they want, *unless* they are doing school (then they have just a couple of instrumental playlists to choose from; no distracting lyrics or audiobooks). If DH or I are in the room, though, we might veto.

 

Prime quiet listening times for my kids are bedtime and mealtimes. They also like to listen when doing quiet activities like playing with clay or drawing. DD6 also likes to play in her room by herself and often listens to audiobooks then. So, you mentioned that you have four kids under 6; if I were you, I'd consider giving any child over 4 opportunities to listen to audiobooks when the littler ones are not with them.

 

[MistyMountain]

I do not do it as background noise. Extra noise bothers me and I want my kids to get into the habit of actively listening to books not bits and pieces here and there. I have one going in the car when they are a captive audience and they can listen when they are playing quietly like playing with things Legos, puzzles or K-nex etc. It has not been happening as much as I would like.

[fralala]

Oh, I am glad you posted this, as someone with a baby who thinks the sound of talking is a challenge (can he be louder?) and a preschooler who seems to find such questions as "What room is on top of us right now?" more urgent than finding out what happens next in a story. I have a strong visceral reaction to this-- stories are to be respected! And I'm afraid it gets them in the habit (which is absolutely aggravating and a scary mommy trigger) of talking over me about something unrelated when I am reading a story, as if they weren't even listening. My kids also fight over the noise if one of them is enjoying the story ("SHH! I'm trying to listen! You're too loud! Oh, you're so BAD!" which is just as successful at quieting everyone down as you would imagine).

 

The solution we've come up with is to allow my oldest, who is 6, to stay up latest listening to audiobooks while I put her siblings to bed, and that seems to work for now.

[4KookieKids]

This is mostly how I feel, except that not even mealtimes quiet enough for audio books, most of the time. My two year old and baby just have no respect for the concept that someone else is talking, and even less that others may be listening. :)

 

I've been planning on individual iPods for Christmas, so maybe I'll just carry as I have been until then. :)

[regentrude]

I love audio books, but not as a background noise. 

We listened to audio books in the car, and the kids were able to pay attention after they were 3 and 5, or thereabouts. Or one kid listened at home while playing/coloring on his own, but not while interacting with the sibling.

I did not want my children to grow up with background noise and stopped listening to the radio (which I usually had on when I was living on my own) etc once they were born. I tried to keep the home free of visual and audible clutter, on purpose.

 

ETA: My kids had their own listening devices - a portable cassette player back then - once they were old enough to handle it independently. Age 4 or so. It might be more difficult for a young child who cannot read to handle an mp3 player; identifying the right cassette tape by the picture on the front and putting it in was easy.

Edited June 24, 2016 by regentrude

[Ewe Mama]

My kids all listen to audio books in their rooms as they fall asleep. It's a way to get them to settle down for the night but not tell them to go to sleep 20 times a night.

[4KookieKids]

I love audio books, but not as a background noise. 

We listened to audio books in the car, and the kids were able to pay attention after they were 3 and 5, or thereabouts. Or one kid listened at home while playing/coloring on his own, but not while interacting with the sibling.

 

This is what we currently do, but we turn it off in the car when the 2 year old loses interest or the baby just jabbers loudly. Sometimes, we leave it on quietly only on the rear speakers where the older two kids sit so they can still listen to it.

 

I did not want my children to grow up with background noise and stopped listening to the radio (which I usually had on when I was living on my own) etc once they were born. I tried to keep the home free of visual and audible clutter, on purpose.

 

Whew - beyond my kids, I don't know that *I* can handle as much noise as we'd have with kids talking over audio books and all four of them doing random things (even just at 25% of the time if they were listening nicely the other 75% of the time)! The four of them make enough noise as is, sometimes I just want peace! I've just been reading the read aloud handbook again recently, and it makes such a big deal out of "the more words kids hear, the better off they are" that I began to doubt myself. But I think there's a big difference in "hearing" words and actually "listening" to them.

 

Doubt - the story of parenting, right? :)

 

[regentrude]

 I've just been reading the read aloud handbook again recently, and it makes such a big deal out of "the more words kids hear, the better off they are" that I began to doubt myself. But I think there's a big difference in "hearing" words and actually "listening" to them.

 

Absolutely.

It is not the number of words alone. Those million word gap studies don't apply to kids that have been parked in front of a blabbering TV.

Parents speaking TO their children, parents having meaningful conversations in the presence of their children, parents reading TO their children, stories being told - live or on tape -- those are words with context. It is not about maximizing the number of words a kid hears. Nobody benefits from being talked at all.the.time.

Edited June 24, 2016 by regentrude

[fourisenough]

A huge NO to audiobooks as background noise! I think that's a terrible habit to develop. We love audiobooks (both at home and in the car), but I will immediately pause the book if anyone speaks; this is partly because I want to make obvious what a distraction/annoyance it is, but also because I genuinely can't listen/speak at the same time. I think our use of audio books has really helped my kids develop the habit of paying close attention- which comes in very handy when sitting in a lecture hall, taking an online class, etc.

 

DD11 just finished listening to To Kill a Mockingbird. She's convinced it is a story that was meant to be listened to, rather than read. She adored it. Now, she's listening to Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and loving it. Though she's a little young for either of these books (maybe just a tad), her listening ears are so well-developed that they're perfectly understandable, enjoyable, and meaningful to her as audiobooks.

 

Take the time to train your 4+ year old children to listen without interruptions; the younger kids will be even easier to train in a couple years after seeing it modeled by the older ones.

[kbutton]

I vote no for background noise. For the littles, you might start with audio books that are picture-book length. Our library has tons. They are usually in their own section near audio books, and they have a CD tucked in the back. They basically look like a regular book collection, but I think they have a designation of some sort on the spine.

 

You could "practice" with having them listen to an audio book once in a while with you in the way that you normally read a story to them. They can play the audio book for "re-runs" of the story. 

 

I had one child that loved to pair an audio book with a quiet task very early on, and one with auditory processing issues that was very slow to warm up to audio books because the narrators talk too fast for him. I think if you are using an audio book on a Kindle or ipod, you might be able to adjust the rate of speech, but we were using CDs when my kiddo was at the age you're asking about.

[pitterpatter]

Well, my DD is 9 and is dyslexic and likely has ADHD. She has her own Kindle Fire and listens to audiobooks constantly. I doesn't matter what else she is doing, she usually has an audiobook playing (with or without headphones) as well. She sometimes will even play one while playing Minecraft or other app game (which I don't understand). She is very into her books. She will listen, re-listen, and listen again to the same story. She knows most stories forward and backward. It could have to do with the wiring of her brain, but it works for her. So, maybe it depends on the kid. I often find her sitting quietly in the midst of chaos. She'll get lured into a story while being very active and suddenly just stop everything to sit down and listen to a particularly interesting part. Sometimes it's a little funny, almost like she's in suspended animation.

 

Having said that, I require her to sit and listen or only do quiet activities with school-assigned books...ones that she will likely only listen to once. Although, it's a rare book she won't listen to more than once.

[MerryAtHope]

Is there a way you can break them into groups--have 2 older ones playing in a room while they listen to a story, without the youngest two interrupting etc...?

 

They may just not be quite old enough or ready for audio books without pictures to follow along or something else to help them concentrate. Mine loved listening to audios as they grew up, but they were a bit older. At this age, my oldest enjoyed chapter books but my youngest really wasn't ready for many yet--and both still really liked listening to books with pictures. Anyway, you may find that they'll do better with audio books in a year or two.