Reading - La Jolla,CA

Do nothing except let her play. She is 7 months old. She doesn't 'hate' to read. She doesn't even know what reading is. She is 7 months old. She is doing what she should be doing developmentally - touching, tasting and slobbering all over everything. She is 7 months old. Sorry, I really don't mean to so sarcastic but this tickled me...

She's too young to "sit" and read.
Babies this age are grabby and mouth things. And they don't have attention spans yet. She is being normal.
Each personality is different.
Just read to her... regardless.
Get board books... and cloth books.

My one year old is just starting to sit and not grab the book... I would not worry about it to much. Just keep reading and exposing her.

When mine did this, I would just change gears and read whatever page she had turned to. She's 3y now and still does this some times just to see if I can keep up.
M.

This is completely normal! I recently read an article on how to raise a reader and they acutally said that around this age, letting them eat the books, turn to random pages, etc. is helping them to become readers later because then they'll think books are fun. If you try to take the books away or hold them far out so that they can't touch, taste, etc. they'll lose interest in books altogether and that's not waht you want to do! Don't worry and just get cloth and board books and let them explore them in the ways they know how. She'll be reading in no time :)

Hi K J.,

AT 7 mos old, your baby is doing exactly what I would expect her to do with anything she gets into her hands. Neurologically, children develop from the head down. For the first couple of years, the greatest sensory organ is the mouth, so of course, everything goes in there, and you have to be very careful with what you allow within reach.

Reading to your little one is very important, though, and it's never to early to start. Give her a vinyl chunky book to hold and mouth while you read to her from something else. Babies especially love books that have a cadence, like "Good Night Moon." Picture books with or without words (fill in your own!) assist with natural language acquisition through image labeling.

Since you apparently like to read, I would highly recommend some books on child cognitive development for you. One of the best series is by Ames and Ilg: Your Baby/Child at 1, 2, 3, etc (there's one for each year).

Enjoy!

I was so sad to read that you think your daughter 'hates' to read. At 7 months this simply isn't true. What she probably dislikes is having to sit there. Reading to babies is not really about keeping their full attention or 'teaching' them to read. It is about establishing that reading is fun and interesting. Get a some durable cloth, plastic, or board books just for her to 'read' (ok, chew and slobber over!) all by herself. Save these toy books for 'story time'. Sit her on the floor with the toy books to play with while you read from a short picture book. Try to read it in an animated and fun way, with silly voices and such. Take time to talk to your daughter about what is happening. 'oh look the puppy has a ball!' That will help to establish that the words you are saying (reading) come from the object you are holding (the book). At 7 months that is not actually clear to them. :o) When you have finished your short book, then ask her what is in her books. 'Is there a flower in your book? Yes! It's a yellow flower." I used to joke with mine asking if their books were tasty!
The best way to communicate that reading is a wonderful thing is to read. Let your daughter see you reading everyday. Let her see that you keep a book by the couch or favorite chair. Keep a small book shelf or basket in the room she plays in (family room in our house) full of books for her to 'read'. As she gets older you can replace the cloth/plastic books with Dr. Suess and such, and really start siting down with her to read a whole story, but right now just show her your love of reading and let her explore books in her own way. The worst thing you can do is to associate books with 'no touch', 'sit still', or other things she views as negative. Also, please remember that learning to read is not a competition. Research shows that 'he who reads first, does not necessarily read best'. :o) When reading is assessed at age 10, kids that learned to read earlier than average (2/3years) and kids that learned a little later than average (6/7years) were all reading at the same levels. Just as many early readers were struggling and just as many late readers were excelling. These days there is a lot of pressure put on new parents about reading. Just remember a love of reading is the most important in the long run.

Enjoy your continuing adventure in parenting!

get her some cloth books. that way she can play with them and eat them.

She is only 7 months. She is not supposed to have the attention span. Get board books and let her chew on them. read a few pages and if she wants the books so be it. All of my 3 years olds early books have chewed edges...that is just what they do.

Just keep at it while she pays attention. My son did the same thing. Now at 18 mths he was "reading" the phone book. He flips the pages and says truck or dog or mama (for lady) or dada (for men). He will fight my 8 yo for a book if it has animals on the cover. And the other day we were asked to leave the library because he was yelling and pointing at all the books.

We really read at night, but during the day, I would read a real book, like Harry Potter while he played with my husband, or was sitting and entertaining himself. We also had some cloth books that were more activities, and board books. Instead of reading, I would point out pictures. I used the real reading for more of a background noise and to get him used to it and sometimes while sitting and cuddling, but it was usually only a few pages at a time, if that. 7 months is really early to expect her to be a patient listener.

Just keep trying to read to her - if she isn't interested, don't force the issue. Try again later or the next day. My daughter loves reading and being read to, but at that age she just chewed on the books and banged them around. Of course she outgrew this quickly. Give her plenty of sturdy ones and understand and accept that they are going to get pretty worked over, possibly destroyed.

Try books with 1-3 words per page and simple pictures. Look for a book that revolves around something your baby likes (the cat? her binky? ) Try reading when your baby is sleepier. Sometimes I try to hold the book out of reach. Just try to keep it enjoyable and not frustrating. Congrats on wanting to raise a reader.

she is a baby... let her taste thebook...there is time for readinglater...

Why try to hold her? If she is mobile, it is natural for her to want to work on her "new trick" and not be too bothered by other stuff. Just keep reading, and don't expect her to be fixated on what you think she should pay attention to. Everyone learns in their own way. Try to read books with just one or two words on a page. When you say "Lion" also say "ROAR!!!!" and make some motions like a lion. This will be WAY more fun that trying to follow the story line of the three little pigs. Also, If you have a book with lots of words, you can just look at the pictures and say "the doggy is running" if she does not seem interested, then turn the page. Sing little songs, use puppets. Just keep reading to her. Also, it is OK to correct her and not let her chew on books. Give her something else to chew. Have fun and happy reading!!!

my daughter was the exact same way-keep trying, now she LOVES books-she actually brings them to my husband & i all the time to read to her!

7 months is too young to expect them to sit and "read" to. However, the thing you are doing right is "talking" to her. Give her a plastic or board book to chew on and 'read/talk' to her from another book for a few minutes. As she gets older, reading time will get longer; adjust it as her attention span increases. Right now, keep it fun, and the talking will be great for her language development. My two kids loved reading time and it was an important part of bedtime routine.

it is fine and normal for a 7 month old to want to eat the book. Let her- get her soft books that are cloth of vinyl and let her have at it. Showing her books and reading her stories is great and I am glad you want this time but she is very young. She will get more and more interested in actually listening to the story later on. Right now she is not comprehending the story or that you are even talking to her.... she just sees something she wants to play with and explore and in her mouth is how she will do it.
Also- seperating her from the story teller and the book is not really engaging her in the book. She likely thanks daddy is showing something to mommy or vice versa. As she becomes more interested have her sit with the reader and point to it- use her hands to point out things in the books etc. As she starts learning animals and shapes have her say the sound, colors, etc. Ask her to point to the kitty- she will learn stuff like this soon if she doesn't know it already! One little boy in the nursery at church smells the flowers on every page of every book- smelling usually means snotting on the book but it is ok- they wash!
Enjoy her- even when she is eating your books! Hope this helps :)

My son was the same way, always eating books, no attention span at all. Now, at 18 months, he will pull books out to look at by himself, or for me to read to him, he will point to the pictures and name what he knows, or ask for what something is. I would suggest that you just keep trying. One idea is to give her her own book while you read another. Even if she doesn't seem to be listening, she is still hearing, and she will learn to enjoy books at some point. I would just let her do her own thing while you read, you don't want to force her and make her upset about them, then she might not like them.

Also, my pediatrician suggested consistently reading only a few books (no more than 4), since that will really help your child learn more words. We have about 4 main books we read almost every day, and then I throw in another 1 or 2 different books a day.

Just keep reading, let her grab/eat one book, while you read another. Her hearing you talk/utter words is all she really needs...

"Hates" to read? At 7 months? I assume you're sort of joking.

Just keep reading to her daily.

Hello, This is all quite normal. All of our grandkids have been read to starting at birth. Some want to sit still for it and others don't. The three who are in school are all extremely gifted in their academic abilities and weren't the same in their interest in being read to. Don't force it. Just got with how long she can handle for now. Increase her reading time as she is ready.
Good luck with your precious little girl.
K. K.

Kids usually have one minute of attention per their age. If your daughter is only 7 months old, her attention span is less than a minute! And it shouldn't be longer.

Try letting her sit anywhere she wants (like on the floor) show her one page with a picture, and maybe some words and read it to her. Then let her eat the book. Eventually you'll get to two pages.

Other than that, you could try reading to her when she's in her crib and lying down. Don't show her the pictures or the book. Just read her the words in a soft, soothing voice. Or do it while she's nursing (if she still is). The stories might be over her head, but she will absorb the tone of your voice and the fact that reading is relaxing and fun.

This is typical. "Forge on" with the books, as you say. Eventually she'll be more interested. My 2 year old loves to read the board books that are all chewed up from when she was a baby. One has a big hole in the binding and she loves to point out "I did that when I was little"... I think she feels a connection to the baby books, and the fact that they are a little weathered kinda shows that they have value (I think)... like these are some books that have stood the test of time. Take at look at your own well-loved books, I'll bet their a little tattered and worse-for-the-wear too!

My daughter had no interest whatsoever in sitting still enough for books until she was about 3. We had great books and there would be periods of time when she has interest so we hit those. She began reading this year and loves books. She is very bright, very verbal and loves learning. Little ones have lots to do and learn in their development. Enjoy where they are today, be careful not to focus only on where they will be tomorrow. The most important part of this is the time focus and attention you give her. Play today- you can do books later.

Read to her, sometimes. Play music in the background. Let her be. She needs time to be a baby, this stage when they put everything in their mouth is because she is exploring thru her sense of taste.

Let her explore and enjoy watching her play. Be patient, she will enjoy books eventually for reading.

Cheers!

my twins at that age did the same thing but I still sat with them at least twice a day. whats important at this age is just getting them use to the idea of sitting with you and looking at books. give her a teething toy and pick up a book that makes noises or encourages her to touch, for example my boys loved Busy Bee because last page bees buzzzzzzzz

oh she does love to read, really she does! at that age she should be eating the book that shows she loves it. I know you think Im a nut but that realy is what she should be doing. my LO used to scream (well squel) when I read and I just kept on reading. now she is 15 mo old and has a massive vocabulary and is even talking in small sentences. the more you read the more they learn and the more they learn to love it. to answer you how to proceed I would let her eat one book and then read the other. I would not take the book from her, let her explore and enjoy eating away...afterall books are yummie, lol. told you I sound nutty but I am so passionate about reading and exploring books I cant help it. I would look for a good library in your area as they might have a baby and parent story time: I have been taking my DD since she was 3 mo old and she really cant get enough of books: some times I wish she would put a book down and play. If you follow their lead and make it fun no pressure then they will love it. if you make it pressure they wont. Oh....in the near future there will be a point where she wil turn the pages faster than you can read so then you just read the pages as she turns them. it is not important that you read word for word, if they wont allow it. There will also be a point where they are mobile and you wont be able to get them to sit for a second to read to them I suggest trying to read while they are bathing, book on tape in the car, in the high chair eating. Oh and reading is not just really reading a physical book it is also songs, telling stories, talking about words in the world around them. sorry I went on, hope this helps. good luck!

She's so young. Give it a rest for a few months, and try again when she's a year old. If you continue to try now, she'll get used to not paying attention, but if you give it a nice long break, she'll probably start paying attention. I don't know of any 7 month old who sits for a book!

Do you have any books with real pictures of babies? My son loved looking at the other babies when he was young. The bigger the faces the better.

I asume that this is your first child just relax she is a little young to be consurned about books yet let her have fun toys and pictures books make a fuss about the cute rabbet or what ever relax enjoy her she will grow to soon and then you will wish sshe didnt read so much and did other things m good luck A. no hill raised 4 children now have 7 grandchildren

That is typical behavior for that age, my son chewed & ripped his books and now he's in 2nd grade reading at 4th grade level so I wouldn't worry!

Seriously...don't worry about it or try to force it. Kids at 7 months old are still only learning to play. She's not going to sit through a story for a WHILE...my son is 18 months old and only JUST started sitting through a story. You're not going to stunt her educational growth, just let her play. There's plenty else she's trying to learn.

-M

Start with board picture books and point out pictures of things she knows such as dogs, cats, birds, farm animals, etc. Don't read the words yet, just focus on getting her interested in the pictures. Be sure to have her point out the things that you are looking at in the pictures as well. This will help to keep her engaged. Start by doing this approximately 5 minutes a day and then work up from there. Eventually you can get to reading the words. You can also retell the story in shorter, simpler words. At this age, the primary goal is to just get them interested in books.
Also, as she starts to chew on the book, pull it away and say books are for reading. Then give her something else to chew on as you proceed with your story telling.

Normal. My kids just wanted to eat the books at this age. You can read to her, but don't expect her to care.

Just have to add a fave saying I've heard & adopted to say to my own children: "books are for reading, not for eating." (:

Forge on! And, find books that she can chew on. Bath books or, they do make plastic books for chewing, believe it or not. There are also fabric books that are great for this age. Get her some of those so you don't have to fight.

We went through this phase w/our girls also. I was so frustrated that all they wanted to do was eat them! I immediately would take them away & explain that we only look at books. She won't get it now, obviously, but I think it was helpful to lay the ground work.

Our girls are 2 yrs old now & LOVE ALL books. It's so cool to watch the process. Enjoy!!!