Reading to Little Ones

Megan and I are really thrilled to have Catherin Oehlman of Squiggle Mum contributing to Kids Book Review. Her recent post on reading to little ones is well worth a look. See more of Catherine at squigglemum.com.

Many a mummy-friend has confided to me that reading to their toddler is nigh on impossible. My daughter is four and to be honest I didn’t ever have trouble reading with her. She was always excited about books and content to sit with any adult who would read to her. My twenty-two month old son, however, has given me an insight into the frustrations other mums have shared.

He was easy to read to as a baby because he stayed still. Then he learned to roll, and rolling lead to crawling, and crawling lead to walking, and now he runs and dances and climbs and bounces and never stops moving! I’m glad he’s a happy, active little boy - but getting a boy like that to sit still for a story can be a challenge.

To every parent trying to read to a toddler like mine, I have one thing to say: persevere. It is worth the effort. The phase might be painful but it doesn’t last long in the big scheme of things. Please don’t give up on reading to your child between twelve and twenty-four months just because it’s hard. This is a really important time developmentally, and the benefits of reading aloud are undisputed. more...

Do you have a little wriggler who struggles to settle for stories? What are your toddler’s favourite books? Head to the post to comment.