Sitting Still to Listen to a Story

I must admit that I have been very bad about reading to my boys. I really want to, but every.single.time I try to read them a book, someone grabs the book and starts flipping the pages so fast that I can't even read. It frustrates me. They ignore me and seem to care less that I'm involved or that there's a story going on - they would rather fight over the book, flip the pages backward, etc.

Am I doing something wrong? Should I try to do it more often even if it means that I am sitting alone in a corner, reading them a book out loud, while they play on their own and pretend to ignore me (the best-case scenario right now)? Or should I keep trying to read to them with them on my lap ("them" really meaning both OR just one) even though this means they will just flip pages all over the place for 5 seconds and then run away?

I thought by two they would sit still for story time and am wondering if I am doing something wrong. We don't go to library story time because I had classes that conflicted with the time, and then when I graduated they started ISR swim lessons in the same time frame. I do plan to try and do that. They LOVE their bedtime story, but we read that to them in their cribs, so that neither of them can reach the book.

Thanks for any feedback and input you guys have!

 

When my two are fidgety, I find it helps if they each pick a book to hold/flip through and then I choose a third to read to them - and then we swap around. You could try to engage them with the pictures, forget about the words for now, just show them the pictures and ask some questions about them. The other thing is that there are times when they're more patient for a story than others, like if one wakes early, she often loves to cuddle with one of us while we read to her.
Good luck

 

They are showing perfectly normal behavior for their age. When my boys were in cribs, I would read a book a night to them while they were in their cribs and I would sit in the glider. During the day, if they brought me a book, I would read it, but never pushed it. I think closer to 3, they have more of the attention span to truely sit and listen to a book. I think having the books available, and around for them to play with and look at, is as important as actually sitting and reading to them. At that age, we also used a lot of ID type books, one word on a page with a picture.

All that said, without reading daily to my kids, one was reading on his own at 3 1/2, and the other didn't start until K. After just finishing 1st grade, they are now one level apart on the guided reading scale (letters A-Z which correspond to a reading level) and both are at the beginning of 3rd grade level.

My point is, keep the books around, but don't beat yourself up about it, and let them discover them!

 

Ditto everything Sharon said! Nadia was exactly like that -- didn't have the attention span at 2 to sit and listen to a story. Eventually it came, and we just read whenever it worked. She started reading herself at 4, and is now a very strong reader for her age.

K&K are just like your guys. We do bedtime stories while they're strapped in their high chairs, actually (and also brush their teeth there!). We also read as much as we can during the day, and they both love books -- but it's certainly not the calm process you're envisioning, LOL. Mostly it turns into a wrestling match, or a game of one-upmanship (read this book! no, read THIS book!).

Just keep at it, and don't worry too much. I've heard that at this age, just knowing how to turn the pages of a book and identify the pictures is half the battle. Over the next year, the attention span will come...

 

Ditto pps - sounds like nothing to worry about! Kids' attention spans and activity levels vary so much. Ivy will sit still and listen to two long Curious George stories with rapt attention, and Andrew gets fidgety after a couple pages and runs off to climb on the heaters, pull on the blinds, drive his trucks over the floor, and generally look for trouble. But he really loves books too. He loves to read "all by yourSELF," turn pages, etc. For a while, he just HAD to carry The Very Hungry Caterpillar around everywhere he went.

I think as long as they have contact with books and books are a presence in your house, you're doing great. They'll come to the books on their own terms - sounds like they already are!

 

I've been reading to my sons since they were 3 months old. We read together before each nap and before bed at night, plus throughout the day as they're interested. Sometimes they sit and listen to a story, sitting on my knee, but sometimes they just want to look at lift-the-flap books (like the Fisher Price Little People books) or look at all the detailed pictures in a Richard Scary book. They love anything to do with digger and trucks, also animals. I would just say to stick with it. As a former kindergarten teacher, I have to say that reading with your kids is incredibly important and some studies suggest that kids who read for enjoyment are most likely to have academic success. BUT, kids, like adults, relate to different books in different ways - they may just need a more interactive experience at the moment. Also, even though reading is a BIG part of life at our house, story time at the library/play centres, etc. is like torture for my 2-year-olds - they are NOT interested in sitting 5 feet back from a book and listening as part of a big group. I don't think that's abnormal at all.

Sounds like you should just stick with it.

 

Mine will sometimes sit in my lap and read a whole book...more often they are up and down, fighting over who sits on my lap or who turns the page, insist on turning the page before I am done or turning back two pages to look at that picture again, asking all kinds of questions baout the pictures that have nothing to do with the story. They are convinced that if there are two - people or animals - on a page one is the kid and the other is the mommy - they always want to know which one is the mommy and which one is the kid even if it is say an elepahnt and a hippo

I think you should just let them take the lead about how much *actual* reading is done. I think it's more important for them to enjoy the books than hear an entire story straight through. Mine play with theirs - give them rides in their doll strollers or *read* to themselves or each other. They are learning - even if it doesn't seem like it - they are learning how to hold a book - which way is up - that you read left to right, etc.

Somewhere I have read that if you want to raise readers it is important to just have access to a lot of books - and also that it is important for the kids to see their parents reading for pleasure. So don't feel guilty about reading the paper with your coffee or that trashy novel