It’s hard to believe Hanna is now two but when you meet her and spend time with her she seems so much older than she actually is. She’s such a smart little girl who loves to learn and loves to get into everything – which is a blessing but also a curse, oh to be a toddler!
When kids want to explore and get into everything they see it’s normal, it comes with age and usually around 2 years old it gets to the worst of it – but it also means its a great time for them to learn. Hanna isn’t much for sitting in one place for too long. She will sit for a movie but doesn’t sit for the whole thing, only a few minutes and then she will get up and do other things and keep coming back to the movie. Normal behavior for two-year-olds.
At a recent doctors visit, the same doctor I’ve taken my kids to for a while they mentioned new guidelines for reading to our babies. Mia is just six-months-old and now is the time to start reading to her. So, for twenty minutes each day, she and I sit down, snuggle and I read to her. This is something we’ve done with Hanna on and off for two years now, but recently she’s started to really want to sit down with us and read. Well – she likes to speed through the pages, laugh and do it over and over again. It can sometimes be a struggle to actually get her to read but here are a few tricks that have helped us:
How to Get Toddlers Excited About Reading
- Let them choose the book: We have a great collection to choose from but different books are geared towards different ages, and sometimes it depends on the kiddos mood what may keep their attention. Let them pick what book they want to sit with you and read!
- Read in a quiet area: Having multiple kids can be distracting when you want to sit down and read with any of them. WIth a toddler its no exception, head to a quiet room in the house or even hop in bed and snuggle with a read.
- Read with enthusiasm: Changing voices for each character and making it a fun little game could be beneficial and entertaining and engaging for a toddler. Try using different voices and changing things up a little bit with sound effects and funny noises.
- Keep it short: Don’t pick (or let them pick) a book that will take a half an hour to read. Even reading a few books multiple times throughout the day may keep them more interested.
- Have a sibling read to them too: If you have an older child see if they’d like to join in on reading time! Hanna loves when her older siblings read to her and I find she will sit with them much longer and pay more attention to the book!
Reading is so beneficial and rewarding even as a toddler. Starting them younger sets them up for great success and gets them excited to read and learn in the years to come.
Putting away the electronics and turning off the tv to enjoy some quality book time never hurt anyone! Enjoy the benefits and start reading to them early!
Read to them constantly and let them see you reading. All my kids enjoy reading and now my grandkids love to read. Take them to the library and book store. They love to go to both places.
My kids always liked reading when they were tiny! We always had so many books around the house. As they got older, they didn’t enjoy it as much, which makes me sad. But I still have hope! We still have books everywhere since I love to read.
Love these tips for parents of toddlers. I never read too much to my kids but they like reading now luckily. Reading is so important for the educational growth of all children.
We have read to our child his entire life, but he still is not a big reader! I am hoping that if we find more books he loves he will read more!
I”ve always instilled a love of reading in my kids from the time they were small. When your kids love to read, it opens up an entirely new world for them.
These are smart tips. Getting kids excited about reading is important and not always easy. I think letting them choose the book is helpful.
These are wonderful tips. My son really enjoyed reading when he was a toddler. I tried to make the experience as fun as possible.
I can’t believe she is two already! We let Jenna choose the books she reads too. Right now she is really into cookbooks. It seems strange to read things like, “And then they said ‘add sea salt.’
Love this! As a teacher I could tell which children had been read to and which hadn’t. It makes a huge difference in their learning, especially in kindergarten.
I love all your tips. It’s important to train our kids to read more, it will help them a lot. I let my kids choose the books that they’re interested in and that really help to get them interested in reading more.
We have a four year old granddaughter that loves books and to be read to. She is starting to ask how to sound out some of the words , it’s such a great way to spend time.
Thanks for these tips Jeanine! When my daughters were babies, I was doing the same thing to get them excited to read books.
Well, I did this when my son was young, and now he is 8 and doesn’t like to read. I’m not giving up though.
I have always read to my boys! The problem is now they are getting to the teenage years and they are not as excited about reading. Trying though!
I love it when children like to read or be read to. My girls love to read as well. They also love it when I read to them. These are some very helpful tips too.
I so love it when my older kids read to my little ones!! It’s so good for all of them :) Great tips!
“Putting away the electronics and turning off the tv to enjoy some quality book time never hurt anyone! ” You ain’t just whistlin’ the Guantanamera my friend. Quiet time when it was just a child and BB, reading and usually laughing about the stories, memories treasured a lifetime. For both parent AND child.
Love these, I too let them choose the books when they are toddlers. Reading habit should be developed when they are so young.
Thankfully my oldest son LOVES reading, we never had to encourage it, we always had to say only 2-3 books tonight haha. But I think we will need to work a bit harder with my second. Thanks for the tips!