Reading- how do I get my super-active kid interested?

[Katie8681]

Also, is it totally unreasonable to start trying now? My son is 4.5 months old. I know I LOVED being read to as a young child and have been a lifelong bookworm. When I break out a book with him he sometimes bats at the pages, tries to eat it, and then he's off to a toy that's easier to wave around and put in his mouth. Suggestions?

[nmoss]

I read to my (older) son from the 1st week that he was born. Sometimes just a few pages, sometimes a whole book. Reading after a non-nap nursing in the morning was the quietest, calmest, best (and sweetest) time. I know you're itching to read all the books that you remember from your childhood, and it's okay to buy/stockpile them now...but the simple colorful board books will hold baby's interest longer. Just keep reading every day and only do it as long as it's fun for both of you.

We have more books than toys now and my son (age 4 now) just finished reading Charlotte's Web with me and is reading The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe with his dad now ( we read regular books too, but he likes chapter books before bed). Doesn't stop him from tearing apart my house or a rousing game of pirates during the day though!

[wehrli]

I keep trying but DS will. not. have. it. He's 7.5 months old and wants no part of listening to me read a book. I tried every day for the longest time, and I continue to try. it'll break my heart if he's not into books... I saved all of my books from my childhood (with my mom's help), there's literally hundreds of books in his room.

[LynnS6]

Try reading while he's doing something else. Try touch and feel books. Let him chew the books. Let him turn the pages. Let him see YOU reading. (If reading is only something for little kids, children won't want to do it much.)

I'm a linguist. I study child language learning. I know the literature on reading to children well. I still had a babe who didn't like to be read to once he began to be mobile. There was about a year where we had very little book reading. He's 10 now. He's an excellent reader. He's got a great vocabulary. He's fine. He's also still active. While his younger sister will happily sit on the couch for hours and read, he's busy tossing a ball around, or moving around.

What I do know from the literature: It's far more important to make reading with the parents a comfortable, pleasant time than it is to force reading. If reading is a chore (even at 5 months), then the child will associate reading with unpleasantness and not want to do it. Read books when you baby wants to cuddle and let him go crawl/walk/run when he needs to. It'll be fine.

[Katie8681]

Thanks for the ideas! Today I took advantage of a quiet moment and tried a tactile book, and we checked out 3 pages (with eyes, hands, and mouth of course!) before he got restless. Good times were had! If there's one thing I know for sure about babies it's that preferences shift week to week and sometimes day to day. Maybe next week all he'll want to do is look at his books.