In December, I posted about how my then 14-month old couldn’t sit through 30 seconds of reading. I had recently read a book, The Read-Aloud Handbook, that talked about the importance of reading out loud and often, and I was motivated to really try with my child. I did try and a couple weeks later, I was pleased to report that it was working. My persistence was paying off and my one year old seemed to be liking books.
My son is now 17 months old and I’m happy to say that not only does he like books, he loves them. He loves them so much that we substituted his beloved nursing sessions before nap and bed with long reading sessions and he hasn’t looked back. He eagerly signs book when it’s time for bed and will easily sit through 5-10 books in a row. Yesterday, my husband was watching him while I was out with our older son and when I came back, I was told that the one-year old had sat through an hour straight of reading. I don’t know what’s more impressive–that the baby wanted that many books read to him or that my husband could tolerate 60 minutes of board books. I’m so glad I read The Read-Aloud Handbook!
