Hi there,
I've been reading to our daughter, now almost a year old, since I was pregnant. She LOVES playing with books quietly by herself and often hands one to me to read. But she has always had the shortest attention span when I'm reading to her and I'm wondering if it's "normal". I've heard that reading a book is a good part of the bedtime ritual, but she is always too distracted by something else, or wants to play with the pages so it isn't calming to her at all. We have some very short, simple books that I make certain sound effects to (not at bedtime), which she loves, but even with those she'll start crawling off before I can get more than a few pages in. I keep reading to her anyway and she seems to listen while doing other things and sometimes comes back to look at the pictures, but she NEVER just sits with me when I read. Her father has ADD so I'm worried that I'm seeing early signs! But maybe I'm just hoping for too much from my little bundle of joy at this stage. What is your experience with reading to a 1-year old?
Thank you!
Thank you all so much for writing. Glad to hear our daughter's attention span seems completely typical for her age. As a first time, worried mom, one never knows! And I agree with what a few of you have written about ADD. I think we are all individuals with varying degrees of "abnormal" behavior, so labeling isn't helpful at all. Thank you again for writing!
This is so normal. My little one, who just turned 1, can only sit still long enough to grab the book from me and throw it on the floor. We stick to board books that have one or two words per page. That seems to about all he can handle.
A.
I doubt it means anything that she wanders off, but I have one caveat: don't be too quick to label your child.
A friend of mine just spent a few days with her boyfriend and his family. He and his sister have four kids between them, and ALL of them are on Ritalin.
Come on, 4 kids needing a drug? Beware of fads.
Don't worry about her attention span at this age (or lack thereof). Stick to short board books. They don't have to be a story either. Many baby books have pictures of everyday things that would be interesting to a baby... clothing items, rattles, bottles, pacifier, shoes, food, etc. Just turn the pages as best you can and point out the items for as long as she'll listen.
Her attention span will grow with her age and before you know it she'll be sitting through whole stories. But keep at it! Having a book before bedtime isn't only a great thing for the night time ritual, it's also very important for her academic development. You are starting her down the right path towards a love of learning.
Maybe start with board books, then move on to nursery rhymes and then whole stories. Our kindergarten teacher told me she saw a study concluding that 3rd grade kids having trouble reading were also the same kids in kindergarten who couldn't rhyme very well. So keep up the reading and rhyming as a part of your ritual... it's great for her development and great bonding for the two of you. It will come back to both of you in spades!!!
Your request made me laugh because this sounds EXACTLY like my youngest daughter! She couldn't sit still for a whole book until recently, and she just turned 3! It's great that you read to her - just stick with it, even if you're only getting through a few pages. I was surprised to notice when my youngest was about 2, that she would sit by herself with a book and would "read" it to herself. Even though I thought she had never paid attention when I read to her, she had been listening and had memorized the words. So, they do pick up what you're reading, even if it doesn't seem like it. She sounds like a very bright and energetic little girl - best of luck to you!
It is 100% normal behavior. Your daughter is just curious about everything around her and this is a good sign. My daughter is just starting to get better at sitting through an entire story at 18 months old. Just keep reading to her as best you can.
I see that you got a few responses, but I wanted to add the my daughter (13 months) is the same way, especially if it's play time. she is more likely to sit on my lap in the rocking chair with her stuffed bunny and let me read her a short book before bed, but she usually gets bored with that and starts to change pages and pull the book out of my hands. She would crawl away if she wasn't up on my lap.
I also wanted to say I agree about labeling kids (not to say you are doing this) you become what you are told you are, regardless of who you really are.
Totally normal. At this stage board books with bright bold pictures are about right. Focus on pointing to objects, shapes colors. You tell the story versus reading a story. As she gets older her attention span will grow. Keeping reading a consistent part of her routine is most important.
:0) Blessings
