Quick book question

[mommy212]

2 YO DS likes to turn pages in his books- quickly, and not on time, and sometimes destructively. How do you handle your toddler doing this? Sometimes with board books, I will hold it closed until I am done reading, and then let him flip pages, but this tears paper books, and doesn't seem like the best solution to me anyways. He wants me to still read with him when he is flipping. Do you read what words you can and move on to the new page? Stop reading until he is done?

[samstress]

you probably need to show him how to turn the pages more carefully (from the corners rather than from the area closest to the spine) to prevent tearing and to teach him that books are to be cherished and well cared for. 

i've never had the issue with dd of her turning the page before i was done reading (whenever it did happen it was because she thought i was done -- i simply explained that there was more to read on the page and she would turn back).  if he likes to speed through the books, maybe that's what he can do while he's "reading" them on his own, but when you're reading them with him, perhaps you can tell him that you really want see what the story's about or how it ends so could he not turn the page until you're done.

i don't know, just a thought.

[P.J.]

My DS is a bit younger ~15mo~ but we use only board books or ones with sturdy pages made for toddlers. We have some beautiful books that we're saving til he's a bit older and won't immediately destroy them!

So firstly I would just eliminate all paper books for now....or, just accept the destruction and don't try to stop it. That's only going to cause frustration for you and your LO. Of course you can do what the PP mentioned and try to help him learn to be more careful, but I would only try that for a short time and if it's causing you or him any struggle then give up and try again a few days or weeks later. IME it's not natural for toddlers to be careful and slow...their natural energy is going to be messy and things are going to get destroyed.

As for the reading thing, my DS also turns the pages real quick. What I do is make sort of a joke of it and just read the first line (or however far I can get before he turns the page) and then start the next page and read the first word or two and then the next page and so on....I usually end up laughing at the nonsense that comes out of it! In fact just yesterday we were reading On The Day You Were Born, which nearly every page begins with that line, so it was like: "On the day you were born....on the day you were born....on the day you were born.....". Now the difference is my DS isn't paying much attention to the words and so it doesn't bother him. How would it be for your DS if you just read like that. Would he get upset and notice the missing lines? What about if you made up your own words that didn't relate exactly to the pages?

I don't think it's so important to read the book exactly and get to every word. We are a bilingual household and some of our kid's books are in German. I only want to read to him in English though, so when he brings me a German book I just read it in English, even though the words are in German. Or I make up my own words. It so does not matter. At this stage he enjoys the pictures and the experience more than anything. May not be the same at your LO's age, but maybe you could try just letting go of wanting to read the book exactly and see how he reacts. If you're having fun and focusing on the experience, or the pictures, maybe he won't care that you're not reading every line exactly or in order.

In any case don't let it be a stress for you. Just go with what's happening and sooner or later he'll slow down and want to fully look at each page. The last thing you want is for him to get a negative association with reading.

Good luck!

[maptome]

I totally agree with P.J.

If you really want to teach him how to turn pages at the right time, why don't you start with board books that have less text, and say, "turn the page" when it's time.  And progressively find books with longer and longer text on each page? When my DD wants to flip through pages too fast, I either just read fast, read what I can, make up my own words, or say jibberish really fast as a game.

Again, though, I agree with P.J. Just don't let it stress you and try to just make reading books together a fun time for you to enjoy together.

[newmamalizzy]

I have a fast-flipper, too.  She's still young, so we only do board books, and I've taken care to choose books with very little text on each page.  I also have made up shorter paraphrases, or selectively skip parts to make the books move more quickly.  Have you tried activity-type books, like lift-the-flap or touch-and-feel?  Do those slow him down at all?  Also, what does he do if you give him a book to flip pages on while you read a different book?