It can be really demotivating to try and read books with your child when they just don’t seem interested. You know all the benefits of reading, like increasing their vocabulary and spending quality time together. And you’ve heard from every other parent, teacher or professional that you HAVE to read with your child. So now the parent guilt starts to creep back in (if it isn’t there already). Disclaimer: There are SO MANY ways you can support your child’s language development. Reading books with them is just one of those ways.
You may be thinking that you haven’t really read much to your child, or that it might be too late to start because they are seriously not interested. If you are wanting to try to spark your child’s interest in books, there are a few things that you can try. Your child may start to become interested, or you might keep persisting and their interest develops later. Remember, there are lots of different ways to develop their language. We are a sucker for books here at The Helipad though, so if you are wanting to give it another go, here are some ideas:
You don’t have to read the whole book word-for-word. You may choose to read a sentence from each page, or even just label a few items and actions that you see. You might even skip a couple pages here and there. This helps to reduce the length and duration of the story, which may make your child more inclined to check it out.
When you have a pocket of time, grab a book and sit near your child as they are playing. Start reading the book out loud and see if it gains your child’s attention. They may wander over to you, might just look at you or they may continue playing. Try to use different expressions and intonations to make it sound more interesting (e.g. “UH OH! There’s a big, grizzly bear. RUN!!!”).
When your child’s stuck in the one spot, this can also be a great time to try and read books with them. You could read a book while they’re in the bath – tough board books are recommended for this to handle the splashes, but you can also get bath books. You could also read a book in the car while you’re waiting to pick up a click-and-collect grocery order, or while waiting at kinder/school pick up.
Keep a few books in easy reach for your child, like on their toy shelf or in their toy box. If you’re worried about pages ripping, opt for soft or board books. Children love checking out new things and if you have been able to read out loud to them (like in tips #2 & #3), then you might find that your child starts to flick through them!
Let us know if these helped spark your child’s interest in books!
If you have concerns about your child’s speech and language development, or if you’ve just enrolled your child in speech pathology services, you may have found yourself down another rabbit-hole of figuring out how you can support your child at home (and how on earth you are going to fit
