Reading to an 8 month old

Question

I have an 8 month old who has more energy than sometimes i can handle. I had started to read to him when he was rifts born but because i fell into depression i stoped, but i want to start reading to him again but he won't pay attention to me, i try to sit him down so he can listen to the book, but he will twist and tumble because he wants to crawl around and play with his toys. Help anyone have any advice on how i can get him to listen to me read or at least look at the pics in the book or is it too late?

Answer 1

My 2 year old won't sit still and let me read a book!!!    Let him play with his toys.  And I found blu-tak is a great invention - I regularly just change the pictures on the walls and sometimes they get ignored, sometimes they'll be stared at and played with for hours.  Don't stress, you can't force an 8 month old to stay still.

Answer 2

You can't expect an 8 month old to sit still for too long. Just read to him, he still gets benefits, even if he's playing with toys. I'm sure you are capable of listening to the telly while cooking dinner, for example. There's a difference between listening and looking, unless the boy is deaf. Just keep reading. His attention span will increase as he gets older.

Answer 3

he may have to come back to it. i rarely read to my son, and now (hes 2) he brings me books to read to him. i read it once, and he tries to go back and explain it to me.

its never too late, but you may have to wait till hes ready, and interested.

Answer 4

The person above me who said your son is too young to be read to is wrong.  Reading should start early - in the womb, if possible.  It's unrealistic to expect your son to sit still and pay attention; he's just a baby, after all.  Let him bounce and wiggle around, chew on the book (that's why we have board books!), and slap at the pages.  What's important is that you're creating a connection to reading for your son.  He'll learn to like reading with you later because he'll associate it with cuddling in your lap.  So keep up the reading, and don't get stressed if he doesn't pay attention.  

Answer 5

Your 8 mo old is not going to sit on your lap and listen to you read.  He could care less.  He has a whole world out there to explore and wants to get on with it.

Reading to an 8 month old is age inappropriate.  He is just a baby.  You will know when he is ready to listen to a story, and he isnt ready now.  

Answer 6

if you keep the t.v. off then he will eventually get interested in books, just keep trying because reading to your child is THE best thing you can do to prepare him for learning.  if the t.v. is on all the time then reading books will seem boring to him.  you can set aside a certain time every day (or several times a day) to read to him, he will start to look forward to it as it becomes a habit.

Answer 7

Does your baby still get fed at bedtime (bottle or breast)?  What my daughter and son-in-law have done ever since my grandson's birth is, they make reading a part of his bedtime ritual.  My daughter pumped so he got breast milk, but from a bottle.  After his bath and everything was finished, my s-i-l would sit in the glider to give the baby his milk, while my daughter sat next to them to read.

Now that my grandson is 21 months, he doesn't get a bottle any longer, but after the bath and all he does get a sippy cup of milk.  He still sits in the glider in his daddy's lap, and mama sits nearby to read.

Answer 8

My grandmother used to give us shots of cogniac, but somehow I doubt that is the wisest recourse in your case.