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blacksalt
July 8th 03, 06:17 PM
Since I have no experiance raising children, I'm reading alot of books
about babies. Many encourage "reading" to even very little ones. My 11
month old wants to bend, spindle, and mutilate every book he gets near,
and as he gets stronger, he's doing more damage. How does one "read" to
a little one when he drops everything to grab the book and wrench it out
of my hands.
As an aside, are there any videos of kids books, where the pictures show
up and the text goes slowly enough for me to read to him carefully?
blacksalt

blacksalt
July 8th 03, 07:09 PM
Astromum wrote:
>
> blacksalt wrote:
> > How does one "read" to
> > a little one when he drops everything to grab the book and wrench it out
> > of my hands.
>
> I give DS a toy to disintegrate while I read to him,

Throws it down and grabs book. He loves books, just not to read.

> but I find that in
> general he is more interested in the pictures anyway. Have you tried books
> with little flaps that hide things?

Wants to rip them off. Pop-ups are in danger for their lives, as well.

It is a big time favourite with DS.
> Here's a few other things you can try:
> -find a time when your son is relaxed, like just before going to bed

Just when he's not relaxed. He goesgoesgoes and then heads for the
sheepskin rug and rubs his face on it. We pop him into bed and he goes
to sleep. I think he's what one calls "active" (and a babbler). So were
all of my sibs. In this day and age, with a nervous parent, I'm betting
we'd have been labeled and drugged, but in our age (the 40's and 50's)
my sensible parents just kept us safe and directed....volksmarches,
hunts for hidden objects, outdoors alot. My memory of childhood is very
grubby clothes and constantly skinned knees from plunging down and
climbing back up the ravine near our house. (One of my family treasures
is a photo, circa 1925, of a group of girls on a hike, all in clean
white shirts and sitting on a rock, with only my mother standing,
grinning, and streaked in dirt). However, all six of us turned out to be
good readers.

> -keep the reading sessions short, when he is not interested, just stop

He's interested: in grabbing and then trying to bend the pages...the
thicker the cardboard and the harder he has to push the better.

> -get books with bright, simple pictures and no or little text
> -or get cloth books, they can take a lot more

Grabbed and flung. Or grabbed and wrestled out of my hands as best as
possible and then flung. Recently he's started to protest if I keep
ahold it.

> -let your son turn the pages at the speed he desires

Lightening fast and random, back, forth.

> -try reading the same book at the same time every day (sounds utterly
> boring to adults, but DS *loves* the anticipation)
>
Hummmm, maybe after swimming at the Y. He seems to be little less
Herculean after a heavy swim.
Right now he's intent on walking more than 5 steps. I'm hoping he'll
conquer that and run off some energy and then not mind sitting and
looking a bit.
Anyone know of **funny** picture books for that age? He sits still when
he's laughing.
blacksalt

Ali's Daddie
July 8th 03, 07:24 PM
"blacksalt" > wrote in message
...
> Since I have no experiance raising children, I'm reading alot of books
> about babies.

I bought all the books, and since Alegra was born, I have'nt even opened one
of them.

>Many encourage "reading" to even very little ones. My 11
> month old wants to bend, spindle, and mutilate every book he gets near,
> and as he gets stronger, he's doing more damage. How does one "read" to
> a little one when he drops everything to grab the book and wrench it out
> of my hands.

At 11 months, have you tried just *telling* him stories? My 3 1/2 year old
niece still prefers that to real books. (But she has us read to her out of
books everyday too)

> As an aside, are there any videos of kids books, where the pictures show
> up and the text goes slowly enough for me to read to him carefully?
> blacksalt

Hmm, that is a fabulous idea. If they don't exist, you should patent the
idea ASAP! lol

--

LES!

Daddie to Alegra Lee. May 25th 2003!
"Daddie's Little Diva"

before you reply to me via email,
please remove your hat


Rosalie B.
July 8th 03, 08:14 PM
x-no-archive:yes blacksalt > wrote:

>Since I have no experiance raising children, I'm reading alot of books
>about babies. Many encourage "reading" to even very little ones. My 11
>month old wants to bend, spindle, and mutilate every book he gets near,
>and as he gets stronger, he's doing more damage. How does one "read" to
>a little one when he drops everything to grab the book and wrench it out
>of my hands.

This is a stage.

My mom used to make fabric books for me. You take colorful cotton and
cut pages with pinking shears and sew the pages together. Then you
either draw designs on the pages or paste magazine pictures on there.
Very little cost, and difficult to damage.

There are also board books which are a bit harder to damage.

In any case, until he gets over that stage, I wouldn't do anything
which allowed him to get to the book to damage it. This is one of
those times when you have to pick your battles.

Reading at that age isn't very productive anyway. So either tell him
stories instead of reading (or sing to him if you can). Or if you
really think reading is necessary, read picture books - just one word
and a picture on the page, and keep him firmly under control so that
he doesn't get ahold of the book.

I also occasionally gave the kids magazines I was finished with to
look at, and when they got too ratty looking, I'd throw them out. Of
course keeping ones I hadn't finished with out of reach.

>As an aside, are there any videos of kids books, where the pictures show
>up and the text goes slowly enough for me to read to him carefully?
>blacksalt

grandma Rosalie

Astromum
July 8th 03, 08:15 PM
blacksalt wrote:

>>-let your son turn the pages at the speed he desires
>
> Lightening fast and random, back, forth.
>

Ah yes, BTDT. Same with the flaps, but DS is settling down to a
somewhat slower pace now.

>>-try reading the same book at the same time every day (sounds utterly
>>boring to adults, but DS *loves* the anticipation)
>
> Hummmm, maybe after swimming at the Y. He seems to be little less
> Herculean after a heavy swim.

Well, at least you tried... Sounds like he's just not interested and
needs to get rid of his excess energy instead. I wouldn't worry too
much about the long term effects. You seem to come from an energetic
family and I know from experience that dyslectics can be helped by
other means than just reading at a youg age. I'd just let him be.

--
-- Ilse
mom to Olaf (07/15/2002)
TTC #2
"What's the use of brains if you are a girl?"
Aletta Jacobs, first Dutch woman to receive a PhD

Welches
July 8th 03, 08:40 PM
blacksalt > wrote in message
...
> Since I have no experiance raising children, I'm reading alot of books
> about babies. Many encourage "reading" to even very little ones. My 11
> month old wants to bend, spindle, and mutilate every book he gets near,
> and as he gets stronger, he's doing more damage. How does one "read" to
> a little one when he drops everything to grab the book and wrench it out
> of my hands.
> As an aside, are there any videos of kids books, where the pictures show
> up and the text goes slowly enough for me to read to him carefully?
> blacksalt
Personally I would think that the books would be better than the videos. If
he doesn't get to handle the books then he's bound to want to investigate
them.
Make sure you've got hardwearing card books. You can cover paper books in
sticky-back-plastic when he's a bit older which helps them last. I did this
to one book that dd was particularly fond of and couldn't get in card. I
also bought a lot of books second hand when they cost only a few pence, so I
didn't worry so much as to if she did damage to a book.
At that age, I found that sitting dd on my lap and reading repetitive books,
with rhythm/rhyme was her favourite. The only probem was that they tended to
be longer and so she would sometimes lose interest. When she started
wriggling or taking the book off me then I'd stop. She also loved turning
the page, which kept her something to do. Maybe he's be better if he has
something (say a pot of raisins) to do while you read.
Some children prefer books that just have pictures with single words. I'd
say, keep trying and you'll find what he likes.
If you have certain books you don't want him to damage, then put them away
for when he's older, or just take them away if he starts being rough with
them. Or have a routine including reading a book. eg. after lunch, while
he's still in the high chair maybe, so you can control how much he has the
book, read one book, stopping when he seems to have had enough.
Debbie

blacksalt
July 8th 03, 09:05 PM
Bruce and Jeanne wrote:

> Give him a board book or cloth book to chew on and keep his hands busy
> while you read to him.
>
> Jeanne

AHA! A decoy!
I wasn't getting too bent out of shape, assuming he'll be more tractable
when he's ready, but the books just keep on about reading starting at
birth. He was, of course, fine when he was an infant on his back, with
Papa lying next to him holding a book over him. He was enchanted. Now
his focus is more physical. Montaigne said "In youth, heaven lies in the
feet." For now, I think I'll point right to left at short sentences when
the opportunity arises, and avoid the wrestling and damage.
As for learning "don't touch", he hasn't, and I'm focusing on things
that might be dangerous that aren't very moveable (he can pry the outlet
covers out already) and just keeping the breakable out of reach, or it
would be no no no no all day long. (This brings up another question, for
another posting).
Thanks for all the ideas.
blacksalt

Kara H
July 8th 03, 09:07 PM
"Sue" > wrote:

> My friend's son didn't really like to be read to unless he was playing in
> the bath tub. So she read a short book to him while he played in the bath.
> Good luck.

<de-lurking>

You know, that just made me think of something. They make books specifically
for the bath tub and those would be worth the effort for a child who likes
to damage them. AFAIK, they can't be damaged unless you are using scissors.
I have no idea where to find them but they are a soft plastic/rubbery kind
of material and the pages always seemed "poofy", like maybe there was air in
it. They are made to be chewed, drawn on, thrown on the tub, etc. Since
children that age are drawn to repetition, you could find one or two and be
set. I'm not positive that they make these types for 'classics' but I know
that stories about baths can be found in this form.

Good luck!!!

-Kara

<back to lurking>

P. Tierney
July 8th 03, 09:42 PM
"blacksalt" > wrote in message
...
> Since I have no experiance raising children, I'm reading alot of books
> about babies. Many encourage "reading" to even very little ones. My 11
> month old wants to bend, spindle, and mutilate every book he gets near,
> and as he gets stronger, he's doing more damage. How does one "read" to
> a little one when he drops everything to grab the book and wrench it out
> of my hands.

Probably by holding his arms away and teaching him what to
and what not to touch, just as it is done in the rest of the house.
Everyone has a system. Regardless, my child like to grab and
enjoys pull-the-tab books. Sometimes I need to pull with her
to temper her strength, but it all works out. A few books, maybe
more, are about ready for the graveyard, but that comes with the
territory, I guess.

> As an aside, are there any videos of kids books, where the pictures show
> up and the text goes slowly enough for me to read to him carefully?

I'm not sure, but books-on-video is a scary area to me, as I like a
clear delineation between reading and TV. In such a case, the lines seem
blurred. Anyway, I imagine that if such things are available, they are
more expensive than sending a good number of regular paper books
through the baby grinder. Beats me, your call.


P. Tierney

H Schinske
July 8th 03, 10:10 PM
>Kara H wrote:
>> You know, that just made me think of something. They make books
>specifically
>> for the bath tub and those would be worth the effort for a child who likes
>> to damage them. AFAIK, they can't be damaged unless you are using scissors.

Yup. I remember those. I *really* remember one of them -- "Elmo wants his ferry
boats. Elmo wants his soap that floats ..."

--Helen

toto
July 8th 03, 10:31 PM
On Tue, 08 Jul 2003 10:17:10 -0700, blacksalt >
wrote:

>Since I have no experiance raising children, I'm reading alot of books
>about babies.

Do follow your own instincts and only take what you need from
books.

>Many encourage "reading" to even very little ones.

I always read to mine and now I read to my granddaughter
who is the same age as your child below.

> My 11 month old wants to bend, spindle, and mutilate every book
>he gets near, and as he gets stronger, he's doing more damage.

For this age use soft cloth and plastic books and board books. He can
touch these and they will hold up fine. Small, sturdy, easy-to-handle
cloth and board picture books should be accessible to infants on low
shelves and in tubs or baskets along with their other toys.

>How does one "read" to a little one when he drops everything to
>grab the book and wrench it out of my hands.

Get books that are short and easy to read. Point out the pictures
while he is on your lap. Don't push it. If he doesn't want to stay
on your lap, let him go and come back to it later. Look at pictures,
name the objects they see, read the story, say the rhyme, and talk
about related topics as they arise. I also found that books that
you can sing work really well. My gd loves music and we have
a book of Twinkle, twinkle little star and of Hush Little Baby.
Both of these are tunes she knows from her lullaby CDs and
she loves it when I *read* them and sing them to her.

>As an aside, are there any videos of kids books, where the pictures
>show up and the text goes slowly enough for me to read to him
>carefully?

Not that I know of, but that isn't the same thing as reading to him
with books.

At this age you are simply giving him a good feeling about reading,
not teaching him to read.

Some good books to try

* Baby Faces by Margaret Miller
* The Bear Went over the Mountain by Rosemary Wells
* Black on White by Tana Hoban
* Blue Buggy by Janet Ahlberg & Allen Ahlberg
* Bumpety Bump by Kathy Henderson
* Humpty Dumpty: And Other Rhymes by edited by Iona Archibald Opie
* Jack and Jill and Other Nursery Rhymes by Lucy Cousins
* My Colors/Mis Colores by Rebecca Emberley
* Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt
* Playtime Rhymes, a DK Publishing Book
* Peek-A-Boo by Jan Ormerod
* Peek-A-Moo! by Marie Torres Cimarusti
* Touch and Feel: Baby Animals a DK Publishing Book
* Touch and Feel: Kitten a DK Publishing Book
* Walking Around the Garden by John Prater
* What Do Infants Do? by Debby Slier
* White on Black by Tana Hoban
* Wow! Babies by Penny Gentieu

My granddaughter likes the board book of Dr. Suess's ABCs
and Mr. Brown Can Moo, can you? also by Dr. Suess

Every baby will have there own favorites.

>blacksalt




--
Dorothy

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

toto
July 8th 03, 10:35 PM
On Tue, 08 Jul 2003 11:09:45 -0700, blacksalt >
wrote:

>> -let your son turn the pages at the speed he desires
>
>Lightening fast and random, back, forth.

That's ok too. Just see if you can point out pictures on
the pages he turns to.

I think you are worrying too much about this too. If he is
that active, read only at bedtime and create a little routine

When he plops down on the rug, pick him up on your lap,
read a very short story and cuddle him as he is falling
asleep.


--
Dorothy

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

Sue
July 8th 03, 11:16 PM
My friend's son didn't really like to be read to unless he was playing in
the bath tub. So she read a short book to him while he played in the bath.
Good luck.
--
Sue
mom to three girls

blacksalt > wrote in message
...
> Since I have no experiance raising children, I'm reading alot of books
> about babies. Many encourage "reading" to even very little ones. My 11
> month old wants to bend, spindle, and mutilate every book he gets near,
> and as he gets stronger, he's doing more damage. How does one "read" to
> a little one when he drops everything to grab the book and wrench it out
> of my hands.
> As an aside, are there any videos of kids books, where the pictures show
> up and the text goes slowly enough for me to read to him carefully?
> blacksalt

toto
July 8th 03, 11:41 PM
On 08 Jul 2003 21:10:47 GMT, (H Schinske) wrote:

>>Kara H wrote:
>>> You know, that just made me think of something. They make books
>>specifically
>>> for the bath tub and those would be worth the effort for a child who likes
>>> to damage them. AFAIK, they can't be damaged unless you are using scissors.
>
>Yup. I remember those. I *really* remember one of them -- "Elmo wants his ferry
>boats. Elmo wants his soap that floats ..."
>
>--Helen

They are available in the US.. My gd has at least one

You can get them online too
http://www.penguinputnam.com/static/packages/us/yreaders/S

http://hallkidsanimals.com/marine_life/88.shtml

many more are available from amazon as well



--
Dorothy

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

Naomi Pardue
July 9th 03, 03:01 AM
>Many encourage "reading" to even very little ones. My 11
>month old wants to bend, spindle, and mutilate every book he gets near,
>and as he gets stronger, he's doing more damage.

Try board books. He can't do much damage to them, and the stories are usually
short enough to hold his attention for what his attention span is likely to be.

THere are also books made of a sort of plasticy material that is limp like
paper, but impossible to tear.

(Also, be sure to interact with him. Are you 'reading to him' or are you
looking at books with him and talking about the pictures? At this age you want
to be doing the latter. And do it only as long as he's interested. If that
means 90 seconds, then let him go after 90 seconds.)


Naomi
CAPPA Certified Lactation Educator

(either remove spamblock or change address to to e-mail
reply.)

Hillary Israeli
July 9th 03, 12:26 PM
In >,
blacksalt > wrote:

*Since I have no experiance raising children, I'm reading alot of books
*about babies. Many encourage "reading" to even very little ones. My 11
*month old wants to bend, spindle, and mutilate every book he gets near,
*and as he gets stronger, he's doing more damage. How does one "read" to
*a little one when he drops everything to grab the book and wrench it out
*of my hands.

I always just tried to get indestructible and/or cheap books. So I read a
lot of board books, and more specifically *used* board books, to my son at
that age!

--
hillary israeli vmd http://www.hillary.net
"uber vaccae in quattuor partes divisum est."
not-so-newly minted veterinarian-at-large :)

missy
July 10th 03, 02:25 AM
(Hillary Israeli) wrote in message >...
> In >,
> blacksalt > wrote:
>
> *Since I have no experiance raising children, I'm reading alot of books
> *about babies. Many encourage "reading" to even very little ones. My 11
> *month old wants to bend, spindle, and mutilate every book he gets near,
> *and as he gets stronger, he's doing more damage. How does one "read" to
> *a little one when he drops everything to grab the book and wrench it out
> *of my hands.
>
> I always just tried to get indestructible and/or cheap books. So I read a
> lot of board books, and more specifically *used* board books, to my son at
> that age!

I am 21 years old and also a new mother. Is it true that reading to my
newborn now can be beneficial to him in the next few years of his
life?

blacksalt
July 10th 03, 02:28 AM
Update: By stupid chance I discovered a trick that at least makes *me*
feel better. Instead of holding him on my lap while trying to read, with
him grabbing and pulling, I sat on a low step and he STOOD behind me,
bouncing from his knees as he is wont to do, peering over my shoulder,
and I got through the whole alphabet, without hurrying. He was quite
curious, but just kept hanging onto me so he could bounce and wiggle and
not fall over. By almost hiding the book, he was bouncing less and
peering around my shoulder more.

Thanks to all for ideas. I can tell this is going to humbling.
blacksalt

Beth Kevles
July 10th 03, 03:04 AM
Hi -- A poster asked:

>I am 21 years old and also a new mother. Is it true that reading to my
>newborn now can be beneficial to him in the next few years of his
>life?

From birth through about age two, the best way to help your child's
language development is by talking with your child. Make eye contact and
chat. Don't worry if your baby doesn't understand; as a newborn he's
unlikely to, but you're putting in place the sounds of language and of
conversation, which are invaluable.

Reading books aloud to your child is of limited value in the first year,
when all you're really doing is exposing your child to the language and
cadences of the written word. If you like to read aloud, go ahead. BUt
if your child won't sit still for it, don't worry. Babies need to
explore the world with all of their senses so that they have something
to connect words to, something as a basis for all the ideas they'll come
to have.

Somewhere between about 14 and 30 months, books start to become more
valuable. Some children still won't sit still, and that's fine. You
can read aloud while your child plays, you can read at bedtime, you can
even read to yourself and let your child see how much fun it is. (This
is a form of behavior modelling, and shouldn't be undervalued.) Stories
may not yet be of interest; you can point to pictures and let your child
tell you what the objects are, what sounds the animals make, etc.
Whatever you do, reading (and all language) should still be as
INTERactive as possible.

By 36 months most children have become interested in stories. If you
don't have some favorites by now, ask your friendly librarian for
assistance. Some favorites are: Good Night Moon, which has rhymes,
rhythm, and you can search each page for the mouse; various board books
by Sandra Boynton, which have rhyme, good use of syntax, and are
delightfully silly; Jamberry, which has rhyming words, wonderful
cadences, funny pictures ... and many many more.

And this is all before we even get to pre-reading skills.

I hope this helps,
--Beth Kevles

http://web.mit.edu/kevles/www/nomilk.html -- a page for the milk-allergic
Disclaimer: Nothing in this message should be construed as medical
advice. Please consult with your own medical practicioner.

Allie
July 10th 03, 02:37 PM
blacksalt > wrote in message >...
> Update: By stupid chance I discovered a trick that at least makes *me*
> feel better. Instead of holding him on my lap while trying to read, with
> him grabbing and pulling, I sat on a low step and he STOOD behind me,
> bouncing from his knees as he is wont to do, peering over my shoulder,
> and I got through the whole alphabet, without hurrying. He was quite
> curious, but just kept hanging onto me so he could bounce and wiggle and
> not fall over. By almost hiding the book, he was bouncing less and
> peering around my shoulder more.
>
> Thanks to all for ideas. I can tell this is going to humbling.
> blacksalt

Another thing we did was "read" him the magaizines we were done with.
He crumpled and tore them, but they were headed for the recycling bin
anyways. However I would caution that you need to still state that
this isn't the way to treat books so they don't translate the "its ok
to tear" to real books, but now that he is a little older his books
are all still intact to read. (which he loves btw)

Allie

toto
July 10th 03, 05:41 PM
On 9 Jul 2003 18:25:23 -0700, (missy) wrote:

>I am 21 years old and also a new mother. Is it true that reading to my
>newborn now can be beneficial to him in the next few years of his
>life?

Reading to children has been shown to be the best predictor of
the ease with which they learn to read on their own.

OTOH, I don't think we *need* to read to newborns. Do it if it
is fun.. Cuddle with your child and read simple books to him.
Once the child is mobile, he may not want to be read to for a
while, but it's a nice way to establish a bedtime routine as well.

Don't beat yourself up for not reading to him early. Speech is
*more* important than books early on. Children who learn to
read well, come to school with more knowledge about the
world around them and a large vocabulary of words they
understand and words they can say. So talk to your child,
tell stories.. Read when he is interested and model reading
by having books around and reading yourself.


--
Dorothy

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

dragonlady
July 10th 03, 06:10 PM
In article >,
toto > wrote:

> On 9 Jul 2003 18:25:23 -0700, (missy) wrote:
>
> >I am 21 years old and also a new mother. Is it true that reading to my
> >newborn now can be beneficial to him in the next few years of his
> >life?
>
> Reading to children has been shown to be the best predictor of
> the ease with which they learn to read on their own.
>
> OTOH, I don't think we *need* to read to newborns. Do it if it
> is fun.. Cuddle with your child and read simple books to him.
> Once the child is mobile, he may not want to be read to for a
> while, but it's a nice way to establish a bedtime routine as well.
>
> Don't beat yourself up for not reading to him early. Speech is
> *more* important than books early on. Children who learn to
> read well, come to school with more knowledge about the
> world around them and a large vocabulary of words they
> understand and words they can say. So talk to your child,
> tell stories.. Read when he is interested and model reading
> by having books around and reading yourself.

Sometimes, when my kids were very small, I'd read to them out of
something that *I* wanted to read. Mostly, they wanted contact and the
sound of a voice. So I'd read the newspaper or a magazine, DH might
read a textbook out loud -- it wasn't about the story, it was about the
voice. (And we'd do this with animated voices and attention to the
child -- it was actually kind of fun.)

When my twins were very small, I can remember realizing that I wasn't
talking to them: in fact, I might go hours at a time without using my
voice at all. (I was TIRED! I think I'd have had PPD if I'd had the
energy.) (And that's a joke: I suspect I WAS suffering from some PPD,
but was mostly just exhausted and overwhelmed.) I knew they needed to
hear my voice, but was having a hard time, so I started out by just
reading the newspaper to them. It got my voice working again.

And, as others have said, the modeling is also important. My kids have
always seen us reading, we've always had at least one daily newspaper
and a house full (overfull. . .) of books.

meh
--
Children won't care how much you know until they know how much you care

H Schinske
July 10th 03, 07:13 PM
wrote:

>I am 21 years old and also a new mother. Is it true that reading to my
>newborn now can be beneficial to him in the next few years of his
>life?

If your baby grows up seeing you reading a lot, and seeing you read to him,
yes, that's beneficial. Newborns won't really know the difference yet, they're
getting exposed to everything all at once, it's just that you need to develop
the habit. It's socializing too. Prop him on your lap and read bits out of the
newspaper or whatever. Tell him about the recipe you're using. Tell him that
the walk light says stop. I don't mean every minute of the day, but just now
and then, as you go about your life.

A lot of it is just showing him that reading is something people do a lot, that
they like to do, that it is useful, that it is fun, that they can share with
others ... making it a normal part of life. That's all. Probably something
you'd do to some extent anyway.

--Helen