reading to the baby (X-posted)

On 19 Nov 2003 13:05:05 -0800, (ted) wrote:

My dd is 8.5 months old. I would love to read to her.

Found this after I posted the first time.

http://www.zerotothree.org/brainwond...racy/chew.html


--
Dorothy

There is no sound, no cry in all the world
that can be heard unless someone listens ..

The Outer Limits

Hi -

My advice would be to get board books and just let her chew them. If
she doesn't want to be read to, don't read to her yet! Let her see YOU
reading; that will help engender the love you want her to feel. But in
the meantime, remember that babies have LOTS of things they need to
learn. Love of books is actually low on the list just now. As she
approaches 24 months -- maybe earlier, maybe later -- books will rise on
the list of important things. For NOW, just talk with her a lot. Sing
to her. Recite poetry. Leave physical books out of the equation for
the time being.

My older boy LOVED books from about 14 months, and at eight years is an
avid reader, reading in preference to TV and computer time. My younger
son wasn't willing to sit still for stories until her was nearly three,
and at six is determined to read as well as his brother. (He's almost
over the hump; he'll be reading without help in a couple of months, I
think.)

You might find the book "Raising a Reader" by Jennie Nash, an
interesting read. It's new, but may have arrived at your library by
now.

--Beth Kevles

http://web.mit.edu/kevles/www/nomilk.html -- a page for the milk-allergic

NOTE: No email is read at my MIT address. Use the AOL one if you would
like me to reply.

"ted" wrote in message
om...
My dd is 8.5 months old. I would love to read to her. I want her grow
up liking books. But there's a problem. She chews on EVERYTHING. She
loves to put everything in her mouth except food ofcourse!

If she so much as sees a book, she'll chew it and tear it apart.
She'll just jump at the book and destroys it (well.. as much as her
tiny hands can). How can I read anything to her? I could buy cardboard
books but then she'll chew them too and I don't know if I can clean
them.

Can we get "plastic" books? Or should I just wait until she outgrows
the chewing habit which is going ever since she discovered her hands.

Thanks.

This is perfectly normal. You can buy bath books and I've seen some fabric
books too.
--
Marie
Mum of 3
DD born 03/98, DS1 born 11/99 DS2 born 08/03

In article ,
"Tine Andersen" wrote:

"Jenn" skrev i en meddelelse
...
In article ,
(ted) wrote:


If you want her to 'love books' then don't read to her at 8 months --
instead make books something wonderful -- that means durable books with
pictures that you can look at with her and point out things -- I
wouldn't let her have the books to chew on -- but tough books that can
take a chew or two are not a bad idea

nothing will turn them off books faster than Mom forcibly reading to
them when they aren't interested

as she gets a little older and is interested in pictures start with that
-- then converse with her about what she is seeing -- have her point at
pictures etc etc -- and slowly progress to reading that she responds to

you may not get to stories till she is close to three [kids vary quite a
bit here] but she will have learned to associate Mom and the books with
fun and love and interesting things

But stick with the reading - every day. My 11 yo - fully capable of reading
herself - still insists that we read every evening before bedtime. Harry
Potter at the moment - came out in Danish 10. oct.

Tine, Denmark



my daughter taught herself by 5 also -- and I continued reading to both
my kids till they were pretty old. At one point we took turns me one
page them the next. My son didn't read till he was about 6.5 -- spring
of his first grade, but became an excellent reader also -- and better
yet both have grown up loving it. I think hearing language is really
helpful and a good reason to continue reading even after they are good
readers -- you can still tackle stuff a step out ahead of them.

On Wed, 19 Nov 2003 13:05:05 +0000, ted wrote:

My dd is 8.5 months old. I would love to read to her. I want her grow up
liking books. But there's a problem. She chews on EVERYTHING. She loves to
put everything in her mouth except food ofcourse!

There are some great cuddly, chewy cloth books with simple, bright
pictures. The sort with foam inside are real page turners - i.e. they make
practicing this motor skill easy and fun .

Perhaps you could read your dd a "proper" book if you
are in charge of the book and she has something else to chew on (a cold
teething ring or something?)? Does she grab a book out of your hands?
Perhaps you could buy some second-hand picture books from a charity shop
for her to be hands-on with (save glossy new picture books for when her love
of books has past the gastronomic stage).

I started reading to ds nightly when he was around 3 months with him on my lap
leaning back against me and me holding the book in front of us. While he
won't have understood much of what was going on at that age, he has always
found the pictures engaging and it has often been the only way to get him
to calm down (he is VERY active). Now at 13 months he spends a lot of time
reading to himself (carefully turning the pages and muttering -
occasionally pointing to an animal and making the appropriate sound), and
frequently brings books to me demanding "reddit." He has learnt a great
deal from books and is now starting to understand narrative concepts - I
think it has been well worth the couple of books that were trashed along the
way.

That said, if it really is too difficult to read to your dd much at the moment,
it won't hurt to wait. I imagine there are plently of bibliophiles who
were not read to before the age of 1, and if you love books it'll probably
rub off on her at some point

Libby

ted wrote:

My dd is 8.5 months old. I would love to read to her. I want her grow
up liking books. But there's a problem. She chews on EVERYTHING. She
loves to put everything in her mouth except food ofcourse!

If she so much as sees a book, she'll chew it and tear it apart.
She'll just jump at the book and destroys it (well.. as much as her
tiny hands can). How can I read anything to her? I could buy cardboard
books but then she'll chew them too and I don't know if I can clean
them.


At this age, DD wanted to turn the pages (of cardboard books) more than
listen to a story; she alsi chewed on the books a bit - that was okay -
that's why they're cardboard. We did begin the bedtime reading but we
didn't necessarily read to her during the day. Later, around 18 months
she was demanding us to read to her about 3-4 times a day.

Jeanne

(ted) wrote in message . com...

If she so much as sees a book, she'll chew it and tear it apart.
She'll just jump at the book and destroys it (well.. as much as her
tiny hands can). How can I read anything to her? I could buy cardboard
books but then she'll chew them too and I don't know if I can clean
them.

Yeah, a couple of our board books got pretty mangled before I put my
foot down and refused to let my daughter chew on them. We started
reading to her at about 6-8 months (somewhere in there).

I would suggest having a chew toy handy to give her while you are
reading. Distract her from chewing the book with a teething ring or
some such thing.

When reading to a kid that early, they don't always sit for the
stories, even the simplest of ones. I read what I could to her, even
if it was only one book at bedtime. Gradually as she got older, we
added more books. By age 12 months, she actively LIKED books
(Goodnight Moon was her favorite at that age). Now - at age almost 2,
she LOVES to be read to.

Cathy Weeks
Mommy to Kivi Alexis 12/01

"Tine Andersen" wrote in message . dk...

But stick with the reading - every day. My 11 yo - fully capable of reading
herself - still insists that we read every evening before bedtime. Harry
Potter at the moment - came out in Danish 10. oct.

Yeah, we read to my 9 yo stepson every night he's with us, too. We
are currently reading Cornelia Funke's book Inkheart out loud. I go
along on the car ride to school, and read then, too.

Cathy Weeks
Mommy to Kivi Alexis 12/01

Ericka Kammerer wrote in message ...

Get her books that she can chew on (like plastic or
cloth books) and let her have at them. Meanwhile, you can
still read some other books to her. My babes loved things
like _Chicka Chicka Boom Boom_ and _Jamberry_. They loved
the rhythm of the words, and didn't always need or want to
be looking at the books (no matter how delightful the
illustrations).

Both my stepson and now my daughter LOVE Chicka Chicka Boom Boom! I
was surprised at how much my daughter, who turns 2 next month, liked
it - from the very first time I read it to her a couple of months ago.

Incidentally, that author of Chicka, Bill Martin, just published
another book in conjunction with Eric Carle - (very hungry
caterpillar) who did the artwork - it's called "Panda Bear, Panda
Bear, what do you See?" and it includes all endangered animals. They
did two others (Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you See and Polar
Bear, Polar Bear, what do you hear?), and this is hands down my
favorite.

Cathy Weeks
Mommy to Kivi Alexis 12/01

toto wrote in message . ..

Be sure that you have appropriate books with pictures of familiar
objects, not too much text and interactive stories. Pat the Bunny
is a good one. So are other books with things she can poke
at. My granddaughter has loved Peek A Who since she was
born. It is a board book with a peek a boo theme that babies
seem to love.

I second all of this. At an early age, my daughter liked any books
that included touching-type of stuff - like That's Not my Kitten (you
can feel the fuzzy ears, scratchy tongue, stuff like that). She was
given Peek-a who at her first birthday, and she STILL likes it. In
fact, it included some of her first words (Moo!, Boo! Choo-Choo!)

Cathy Weeks
Mommy to Kivi Alexis 12/01