Reading to Our Daughter

They don't have to be "paying attention" while you read. Let her have a doll or something. The important thing is that she's hearing expressive, fluent language. Keep up the reading!

Good for you for trying to read to her! Keep in mind she is really young and just not ready. Try the tactile books that she can touch something smooth, sticky, rough, to keep her attention (lots of neat ones at Barnes and Noble). The primary goal is to teach her that books are fun. The joy of listening to you read will come later.

I would just give her a hard page book that she can "play" with and you simply read another book to her. She is too young to truly be following the story you choose to read. But she is getting the idea of the bedtime story routine and will eventually be interested in what you are looking at too. They say its all about modeling the behavior. It doesn't matter if she looks like she is sitting and paying attention to you. She is hearing you, even if she is busy playing with another book.

Bravo to you for taking the time to read to your daughter! Even though it seems like it's a wrestling match, this time you spend together and the value you place on books will stay with her always. She's at that exploratory stage where she wants to interact with her environment. Make sure it's the last thing you do before bedtime and you're in a calm, quiet place with low lights. Pick soothing bedtime stories that are short with lots of great color and pictures. Let her participate by asking her things as you go along like "What does (this animal) say?" etc. and let her turn the pages. And those cloth books are strong enough to resist rough handling. In time it will become a really special time for you both and her love of reading will grow. Also, always have lots of books around otherwise easy for her to reach and let her see you reading too. Good luck and God-bless. From a grandmother who's been there! S.

When I first started reading your question, I thought you were going to say your daughter was a pre-schooler! She's only 11 months old. I think they're more interested with how the pages work and feel (and taste!) than anything else at that age. She's perfectly normal. Yes, reading is very important but you'll know when she's ready. Just start with one page at a time. Maybe talk about the pictures ("look, it's a duck!") and like someone else said, get board books and the books that have different textures. As a point of reference, my 14 month old is just starting to sit and look at a book with me for a couple of minutes before he moves onto the next thing. He likes the books with flaps he can open And he is starting to come over and sit down for a second or two when I'm reading to his older siblings.

Board books!! Those are awesome, because babies can't just rip the pages out because they are cardboard (although I know a few of our board books had teeth marks on them, so watch out for that). Also, it's hard for babies to sit through a story, so one thing I always did was just point at pictures and say the name of whatever it was (animal books are fun, and simple picture/word books are nice, too). Or pick simple stories like The Very Hungry Caterpillar to read to her. It is so much fun to read to them at that age, even if it's just pointing at pictures and naming them. I remember my daughter would grab my finger and use my finger to point at pictures for me to name for her.

Enjoy the time, it goes by way too fast!

OK, I LOVE this question! I went through this with our oldest daughter when she was a baby (now she's 11 yrs. old)...here's what worked for us. We read the same story every night. I know, I know...you'd think the repetition would give way to variety...but no. We bought two books (two of the same book). One that she could hold while we read the other one. Very soon, she began imitating us as we turned the pages. Yes...she licked it and tore it up a little... and it took a while for this routine to set in. But guess what! She still wants to hear the same story at bedtime...11 years later...every night. ...In the meadow, by the lake, little mice struggle to stay awake....

just keep it up. our daughter did this too..she is now 28 months and just started to NOT do that...and now she wants to read to us(though she cant read..she still remembers what YOU read to her on those pages)
They see something and they think its MINE MINE..they see you holding a book and they want to hold it too(even if its not so gracefully)
Just keep doing the same thing..when she started to do that, I elected to have hard page books so she wouldnt rip them up and destroy them...now we are ok with the paper pages.

She's a normal 11 month old baby, while you are expecting her to sit and listen like a 3 year old would. At this age, all they want to do is explore with their hands and other senses and it's going to be a while until she is actually willing to sit still and pay attention to the story you are reading. My daughter didn't get there until she was about 2 years old.

Like others have said, gets lots of sturdy board books that she can look at herself and not destroy. Books with flaps and things she can touch and feel are good too. And another thing that worked for me at that age was to put DD in her crib, let her sit or stand holding on to the side, and read the story while sitting in the rocking chair next to the crib. When she was around 18 months, I would let her sit in my lap, but usually I couldn't really read the book, page by page, start to end - I would just let her flip the pages back and forth and describe what was on each page as she was looking at it - "Oh look, here's a blue dog in a red tree! And here are dogs in cars! And here are dogs in a boat!" If she starting ripping a page, I just told her no, got the book away from her, and said, "We don't rip the pages - books are for reading." Now she is 3.5 and loves me to read to her, and has started "reading" some books herself (really simple ones like "Old Hat, New Hat" that she essentially has memorized).

Very normal. Try getting books that have songs or things she can touch, that might her more involved. Or let her hold another book while you read one to her. Also when reading point things out to her like "isn't that a funny hat?" or something similar. I still do this with my 4 year old daughter when we read and it makes the book more fun.

I think is kind of normal at that age but it does get better so don't give up, my daughter is almost 3 and she start reading now but she did the exact thing at your daughter's age. I also agree wit the other mom, get her a board book, is not only easier for them to turn the pages (also not nasty paper cuts) and they hold so much better, start with one with very few words and try interacting with her.

She's not even a year old. This is very normal. Don't let it turn into a fight with her. If she isn't enjoying sitting and reading, then stop. Sit and sing a song with the lights out to wind down instead. When she is a little older, she will be able to listen to a very short story. Not all kids are as engaged with these things as others.

My son, couldn't be still for any story, even pretty short ones, until he was closer to 18 months. Our daughter LOVED books and would happily listen much much earlier and much longer. Personality plays a part in this, but she is still very young to expect to just sit and listen/look and not try to grab the books/pages.

Chunky books are better for now-until she learns not to tear-just keep trying-I read to my Grandson-first he was six weeks old and sat like a little doll. Then he turned the pages so fast I couldn't keep up with him-now , at 16 months, he listens intently-the parents read "Goodnight Moon" sometimes 9 times back to back!

Totally normal...I still mostly read short board books to my almost 15 month old. He especially likes the ones with flaps or doors, like "Where is Baby's Beachball?" or interactive, like "Pat the Bunny." He helps lift the flaps and loves to turn the pages. We have about 10 board books that we rotate for his bedtime. BUT, sometimes, he just wants to be put in his crib. He doesn't always want us to read to him.

So so normal! When my daughter was 11 months old she would pay attention for a short period of time, then on to something else. She loved the touch and feel books. And she loved the books with the "lift the flaps" as you read along. Those books kept her attention longer. Keep at it. It's a great start to a love of reading. My daughter is almost 3 now and she loves to read. As soon as I get home from work she brings me a book and says "Mommy, read to me please". At bedtime we read about 10 books (no joke!). But I can't refuse her when she asks for another book. Give your daughter more time. As she gets older she will read for longer and longer periods of time. Good luck!

I would give her board books that she can bang around. You may find that very very short books are all she has the patience for right now, but keep trying. You may also read near her while she plays. She may not be paying rapt attention, but she'll pick up the words. We have one board book (we are HUGE Sandra Boyton fans) that is all chewed up on the corner because DD thought it was a great teether when she was 6 mo. old. You might also look for books with sturdy pop outs or things to open or pull. They make fabric books, too. My DD has one that is a very basic ABC book, and she can toss that one all she likes. For a long time we didn't get very far, but she liked the pictures and it didn't matter if we read A-E or F-Z.

We didn't start reading to our kids until they were almost 2 years old. At 11 months, we found there was not point.

get the cardboard books. They are really short stories and if the baby grabs them you don't have to worry about her ripping the pages. I didn't start my daughter on paper story books until she was 2 years old.

good for you! too many parents put off reading to a child until she's 'ready.' it's really never too soon.
but a wiggly tiny is often not ready to do the traditional sit-in-lap-and-pay-attention thing. you can put her in her crib and sit next to it and read to her. or let her play near you while you read to her. it may seem as if she's not paying attention, but at least some of it is getting through. (try reading a favorite story out of order and listen to the indignation!) i really like the idea of giving her a board book to mangle while you read a favorite. 20 years later i still know goodnight moon and most of the suesses off by heart.
:) khairete
S.

It will be like that until she is about 2 because she is too young to sit still and pay attention for more than a few seconds! But keep reading and keep her exposed to books because that's the key to having her enjoy books later.

That's normal. My baby girl will pay atttention to a book for about 5-10 minutes and then its on to something else. Kids have such S. attention spans. I found that if i don't let my baby EM watch television, she will pay more attention to her books.

Try cloth books - they cannot rip those. They also make plastic ones that go in the tub those might work. Picture books also work great. Grammy reads more to my son than I do and he gets a kiss after each page. That's why he loves. Short and simple books. Every yard sale, second hand store I went I looked for them. Also when she gets old like my son of 28 mths and will not sit through the whole book at the end of each page I ask him were an item is on the page. He runs to the book no matter where he is when I ask where is the mouse, or flower he loves it! I feel a bit bad because he only gets part of the story but my Dr said it's ok he is a toddler in the exploring stage. Hope it helps... try the kisses for good behavior!

The best books at this age are the board books, fabric books, and also the bathtime books. They tend to have shorter stories and also it doesn't matter if they are a bit rough with the book. It is totally normal for your daughter to have such a short attention span at this age. You could give her a fabric or bathtime book to play with/chew on while you read a different book to her. It is really important to introduce books and reading to kids early but at this age don't expect her to keep still for too long to actually listen. I read to my kids too from very young and they have a wonderful love of books already at ages 5 and 8. Stick with it, just maybe read shorter intervals at this stage.

you shouldn't force reading on her- find a time and place where you have her attention... bedtime may not be the right time for her at this point... reading should be a joy, not a chore... =D

good luck-

She's still very young to "sit and listen" for longer periods of time, especially if she's tired and ready for bed! Try picking a different time to cuddle and read. When my son was that age, we often used the first 10-15 minutes after he woke-up to cuddle and read a book as he was "waking up". Remember that the recommendation is to read 20 minutes daily, but that doesn't have to be in one sitting and it doesn't have to be a "story"- picture books build vocabulary too!

She's too little to sit and listen.
I did stories at this age, but they were quick and they were board books. I would point to the pictures. If I could read the sentence on the page before he turned it, it was a good day. Goodnight Moon is a good book for this age...
Enjoy your little one! Time flies and before you know it, she'll be off to college.
LBC