How to Make Books Their Favorite Toy

 

      I LOVE to read. Before Cutes Patoots was born it was not uncommon for me to finish 4-5 books a week in addition to my school work. I'm not talking 100 page novels either. I would swallow 4-5 400 plus page books in a week. Since her birth there hasn't been less reading. It is just changed to parenting articles on the computer, cookbooks, or comic books I can easily put down because lets face it I can't spend an entire day swallowing a novel anymore. Though I did manage to read the entire Hunger Games series in a little less than a week. Lots of late nights there. I just couldn't put them down (who needs sleep? I'll sleep when she's married...maybe.) Anyway the point here is I am an avid reader. As such it should come as no surprise that I want my daughter to have the same love of books. Books open whole worlds and encourage imagination as well as build language skills. To people who aren't avid readers they often don't quite grasp how words on a page can become real to people who truly love them. I want Cutes Patoots to join me on these fantastic adventures.  

 

     BUT I had no idea how to do this when I found out I was pregnant and yes between worrying about having no clue how to put a diaper on a baby, what on earth does a newborn really need, and "OH MY GOD WHERE DID MY FEET GO! They were JUST there!!!!!" I was thinking about books. Papasaurusrex and I both agreed when we found out I was preggo that we would start her library immediately by buying her one book a month. We have faithfully kept with this for almost 3 years. Every month she gets at least one book, sometimes more from us. We told our friends and family about this and all the grandmas have been on board the build the baby a library train and purchased books for her, some by the paper box full. And I LOVE it, but more importantly SHE loves it! We always have something to read. Do we occasionally get hung up on a particular book? Yes. Please don't ask me Who Is Huckle (thank you Wendy's for that) and if you ask me to recite Llama Llama I will start by asking you which book, but there are always new books to read together and old books to enjoy again (and again. AND again).

     Has all of this helped? Well at 2 years old she is beginning to recognize certain words and telling her own stories. It is not uncommon in our house for her to walk away from a cartoon and start bringing over book after book for one of us to read with her. We used to have the hardest time getting her to brush her teeth. Until we started reading books about teeth. When the problems brushing re-emerged because she wanted to do it we started reading her a book to keep her brushing long enough (yes this works). Our biggest bedtime problem? She wants us to read another story (we cap her at 3). After we leave the room she wants a light left on so she can look at her books until she falls asleep. She even 'reads' to our cat and dog. I am not telling you this to brag about how amazing our child is. In terms of actual reading skill she has about 4 words I know she recognizes consistently. So if you are reading this article hoping to turn your kidlet into a reading prodigy by one years old I got nothing for that. If however you want to engender a love of books in your little one I do have some advice on that.

Start Early! It's never too early to start. I remember reading my text books out loud while I was pregnant, reading with Cutes Patoots in the middle of the night before she could even hold her head up. I remember laying on the floor reading with her during tummy time. I also remember feeling incredibly silly because "what is she getting out of this exactly?" The answer was apparently way more than I thought. I was particularly glad for having built a library at this stage because I wasn't limited on reading material.

Build a Personal Library! If you are pregnant and reading this start your little ones library now. Have a newborn? Start their library now! Infant? I think you get the point. If you have a toddler it's not too late to build their personal library up. Make a commitment to buy one book a month. It doesn't even have to be a new book. You can buy books at thrift stores, yard sales, used book stores, Amazon has a great used book program. Some libraries even sell old library books and bonus that money is put back into the library. Speaking of....

Go to the Library! Pick a day every week that you go to the library. If your library has a story time that works with your schedule go to that. The kids get to hang out with other kids and hear stories. At our library they also get to do a free craft and sing silly songs. The most awesome thing about this? It's free. We go every week. Partially because we have already read all the books from the previous week but also because this give us time to read together and pick out books together while having zero stress about what I 'should' be doing. When I am at the library with Cutes Patoots I am doing exactly what I should be according to the weekly routine. We like to go to story time early to pick out books and read together while everyone else arrives. More than once I have had other kids come over to sit with us while we wait for the librarian.

Create a Space for Reading! Cutes Patoots has several places in the house where she has books. She has some of her more advanced books we keep in the office, in her bedroom is a small collection of board and bedtime specific books, but in her playroom I have a nook that is set up just for her to enjoy her books in. She has a 3 shelf book case and a chair. Papasaurusrex bought her 2 IKEA LOVA bed canopies for Christmas that we used to turn the area into a cozy little jungle nook for reading. I often find her sitting in either her elephant chair or a wicker rocking chair that was mine as a child with books scattered about as she finds the story she wants. She loves to lounge in this space and look through her books. She 'reads' herself stories based on the pictures and what she knows of the books by heart. It is one of her favorite spaces in her playroom.

  
Read Together! This one I can not stress enough. If they bring you a book, barring things that truly cannot wait, read it with them. I cannot tell you the number of books I have read with Cutes Patoots while sitting on the toilet (TMI I know, but you're a parent or going to be soon. Babies and toddlers aren't so good with the personal space and time thing.) I almost never refuse to read with her. I have stopped doing homework, I have ended unimportant phone calls, read her stories while on the phone with my mom, paused movies, or totally missed favorite TV shows.  Does it sometimes get aggravating? Meh, sometimes. But it has sent the message to her loud and clear that books are important. One night she brought me 30 different books. We would read a book and she'd go get another one. Over and over. We read every book she brought despite having a ton of homework. That night when bedtime came she still got her teeth brushing story and you better believe she got all 3 bedtime stories. Enjoy this time. Yes there are dishes that need done, laundry that needs folded, homework to do, but kids will pick up on whether or not you enjoy reading with them.

Read WITH Them! Have you noticed  the use of the word 'with.' I have read a lot of articles that talk about reading TO your children, once I get into the meat of the article what they really mean is to read WITH them. There is a difference. Reading TO them means you read the words on the page. Reading WITH them means you ask questions and involve them in the story. Things like "What color is the truck?" "What sound does the cow make?" "What do you think is going to happen?" Cutes Patoots has a book called Little Tiger Picks Up. In the story Little Tiger roars twice. I let Cutes make the sound and praise her for her fierce roar. This is reading WITH her. She is not a passive observer but an active participant. And don't think that reading with them has to wait until they can talk. You can ask questions and involve them in the story from day one. Simply ask the question and wait for them to wave that cute little newborn fist or make a cooing sound. Then say something like "Exactly the fire truck is red." or pretend they got the answer wrong. Have fun with it. Initially yes, you will be answering the question. The idea though at this point is to start teaching them the give and take as well as giving you practice for the toddler years when you say "what color is the fire truck," and they respond with "color is purple fire. Punzel on fire." and Rapunzel isn't even in the story.

Make Reading Part of YOUR Routine! This reading thing goes deeper than just reading with your child. You also need to let them see you reading. By reading for yourself you reinforce the idea that reading is important. You don't have to read literary classics or 1000 page novels. It can be magazines, cookbooks, or comic books. Hey even blog posts but let them see you reading. Kids notice what you do (and don't do). As cliche as it sounds actions really do speak louder than words, especially when you are dealing with kids. They are learning how to be a person by observing everything that is going on around them: what they see on tv, at the park, at school, from friends. But far and away the ultimate example of how to be and act starts with mom and dad.

Hopefully with these tips you can make books your little one's favorite toy and make going to a book store more exciting than Toys R Us. Next week I will talk more about how to go about building a personal library for your little one and some of our favorite books. (Spoiler Alert we love Llama Llama or as she says Llam-Llam.)