Average age to listen to a chapter book?

[kgianforti]

Your opinion: What is the average age for a child to sit and listen to one chapter a night from a chapter book like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Saving-Mr-Nibb...3047023&sr=8-2

[staceychev]

We started with my DD around age 4. But, I also think she has always had a better-than-average attention span.

ETA: I'm talking Wizard of Oz and Charlotte's Web type books, by the way. We were reading Little Bear type chapter books in one sitting before then, but I'm not sure how long before.

[Daffodil]

I suspect the average age among MDC families is a lot different from the average age in the general population. My kids were ready earlier than the average kid, I'm sure. They would listen to a whole story from Winnie-the-Pooh (about as long as a chapter in a chapter book) before they were 3. I remember one day when DD was around 2 1/2, DP read her a whole (fairly short) chapter book in one sitting. I started reading short chapter books with lots of pictures to DS around the time he turned 3. But it wasn't until my kids were more like 3 1/2 that they really got interested in following the same story and finding out what happened. Before that, they didn't seem to care whether I kept on with the same book we'd been reading or not.

Of course, there are probably plenty of kids who would be interested in listening to a chapter book, but their parents don't have the time or interest to read something that long, or it hasn't occurred to them that their kids might be ready.

[itsmyturn]

My oldest DD, who is now a very advanced reader, would not listen to chapter books without pictures until around 4-5
My younger DS started around 2.5, he even likes audio books
I think personality probably has more to do with it than age

[Artichokie]

my 24 mo old will listen to a chapter book.

[4evermom]

I think I read a couple of chapter books to ds at bedtime when he was 4 but really the only reason he stayed in the area and listened was because he was nursing. That was the only time he liked being read to. Other times, he felt when I was reading to him, I wasn't accessible for interaction and he'd do disruptive things so I didn't read much to him until he was more like 6 or 7. It's basically a temperamental thing, imo, rather than a maturity or intellectual thing. Also some kids are more kinetic. And ds did always listen more than it seemed if I read while he was bouncing around. Sometimes people think kids aren't listening if they aren't sitting still but that isn't the case for some.

Smily from ds

ETA: Books had to be to ds's very specific tastes, as well. He'd listen to certain chapter books, not any chapter book. He is the same way at 8yo.

[pianojazzgirl]

We started reading chapter books to dd when she was 4. Sometimes she would be content to sit and listen, other times it was a bit too much concentration for her (following the story without pictures). Now she is 5 and does really enjoy them, but still sometimes prefers picture books - depends on her mood.

[MJB]

Both my boys started listening to chapter books at 3.

[ann_of_loxley]

My son would listen at three. But...what he could understand/remember...made me feel it wasn't really worth it! lol He was pretty much about to drop dead asleep anyhow. Id like to feel I could pick up a book and read it bits to him at a time and he could remember and piece them together (like I do when I read a book!). As it is, I read outloud to him loads and he is always asking me what things say so I don't think he is missing out. And he loves loves loves books on audio which I know is helping with his listening and imagination skills (such as picturing the story in his head)...so I don't think it will be long until we return to chapter books! I would say at 5 or 6 is when most children would probably get the most from them. But if they can sit through it earlier, and you don't mind - why not! lol

[cedoreilly]

Mine were five before they could really sit through and enjoy a chapter book.

[limabean]

My DS started really getting into having me read Magic Treehouse books to him when he was 3. I was a little skeptical about his comprehension level, but he would ask questions/make comments afterwards that made it clear that he was following the plot, so we kept up with it, reading 1 or 2 chapters per night.

Now that he's 5, we read those little chapter books in one or two sittings (we read a whole one just this morning, actually), and the chapter books he prefers these days are more like stuff from the Little House series, Charlotte's Web, etc.

[lindberg99]

I think I read a few Magic Treehouse books to my son at age 3. He preferred picture books though. I started reading Harry Potter to him this past summer, right after he turned 5. He made it through maybe half of Goblet of Fire (right in the middle of the Yule Ball scene) and then lost interest. We've been reading other chapter books since then though, Deltora Quest and now we're on book 6 of the Narnia Chronicles.

I think you just have to try and see if your child is interested or not. I tried reading Harry Potter to mine I think two times before he finally started listening and enjoying it.

[aelf]

I started reading my daughter chapter books (Charlotte's Webb, The Rats of NIMH, The Wizard of Oz, The Last Unicorn, etc) when she was newly 2.

I had tried prior to that, and she just didn't have the ability to keep the story together from chapter to chapter. I suggest starting when your child is interested and capable of retaining enough of the plot from night to night.

[Grace and Granola]

Little Bear type chapter books at age 3, after than came My Father's Dragon around 3.5, and James and the Giant Peach type books at age 4.

[haleyelianasmom]

We started reading some chapter books around age 4. We did some of those fairy series books (not my favorite as they all have the same basic plot and aren't terribly interesting, but dd enjoyed them. I'm talking about the weather fairies, pet fairies, etc. books.). Then we've been doing American Girl books which I actually like and she seems to really like. They're a good length, too. Now we're tackling Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and she's loving that, too.

[LynnS6]

Ds wasn't ready before 5-6. He just didn't like to sit still that long. Dd is 3 years younger than her brother and started listening to chapter books at 3.

I would expect that most kids could do it by 6, but that many parents on MDC have kids who do it earlier.

[lach]

I started when my daughter turned 2, right after I read the Read-Aloud Handbook. I doubt she got much out of it, and I think she's only just starting to sort of understand a few minor things. She plays and colors quietly while I read, and sometimes she curls up next to me to listen. I just think it's a good habit to get into. We started with the Noddy books, and read the first five. Then we started on the Carolyn Heywood Betsy series, and there are a ton of those.

[meemee]

one thing i have learnt - average age does not apply to my child.

some things she has done really early. somethings she has done really late and some in between.

curious why you want to know what the average age is.

[EviesMom]

DD was about 4 when she started liking the idea of a chapter book rather than a picture book that could be repeated many times. We started with a book called Toys Go Out that the librarian recommended, and she loved that. She got the sequel for Christmas but we haven't read it yet. It's nice because it's a chapter book with a theme throughout, but many of the chapters read as little mini stories unto themselves. And it's reasonably long without having some of the emotional themes of something like Charlotte's Web, which DD could not have handled.

A kids abridged version from when I was a child of Alice in Wonderland (turn the book upside down for Peter Pan instead!) was a hit, and we started Peter Pan, but it was too gendered-"girls are too smart to fall out of their carriages, so there are only lost boys" and annoyed her so we quit. We've now been reading the Flat Stanley series, which she can read parts of. They're fast reads, so she, DH, and I each read a chapter and they last about 2-3 nights that way.

We tried Ramona about a year ago, which I loved as a child, but it was a dud for her. I might try again now that she's a little older and understands things like "a quarter of an hour is 15 minutes but a quarter is 25 cents, so Ramona gets them mixed up and that's kinda funny." She knew a quarter was 25 cents, but couldn't figure out why Ramona was still late, since she couldn't tell time. Now that she's learning stuff like that, she might like it more.

DS is just over 2. He barely sits still long enough to read a board book, so I think he has a while before chapter books! He did tonight tell me he was going to read to me though, and told me what happened on each page of the book.

[nextcommercial]

My daughter was four when we started with Junie B Jones, and Marvin Redpost. But, she was listening to my sister in law read them to her cousins when she was maybe two or three, and she enjoyed them. But, we didn't start until a year or so later.