Is family read aloud time frustrating because your kids aren't close in age? Maybe one child wants a board book and the other one wants a chapter book?
What if I said you CAN read aloud to differently aged children at the same time AND keep the kids happy (while staying sane yourself).
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It can be done!
My boys are four years apart and they are on very different reading levels, not to mention their ability to sit still!
In my read aloud career I've been about to create more than 300 book lists for kids, so I have some serious experience at this. (Not to toot my own horn or anything. Okay, maybe a little. Toot toot.)
With these tips for reading aloud to all the kids at once, you soon will be having the best family read aloud time ever.
Notes on Babies & Toddlers
If your youngest child is a baby, it's easy to sit the baby on your lap, give him something to chew on, or as I used to do, nurse him, while you read to your oldest child. But as that baby becomes a toddler, things get a wee more difficult (to put it mildly).
Toddlers are very demanding of attention, and it might seem impossible to sit down and read with an older child unless there is another parent keep the toddler busy.
In our case, my eldest is not appreciative of having his reading time interrupted by his brother's demands for me to read the same page over and over again (one of his brother's most delightful qualities). But you don't have to limit reading time with an older child to your toddler's bedtime! Try the strategies below!
Strategies
To spend more time reading with both boys I have developed a couple of strategies that have worked very well.
Read During Meal Time
Hear me out. You may not like this idea if you have family dinners every night. However, sometimes meals are less formal and you can take advantage of that. Or, choose breakfast or lunch. Even snack time is a great time to pick up a read aloud book.
For example, I let the boys take turns choosing their favorite picture books and I read to them while they eat. The younger child doesn't mind that his sibling's books are over his head, he is just enjoying the company and his dinner.
Always Ask the Older Child to Join You
If your toddler or preschooler toddles up to you with a book and you settle down on the couch, invite your older child to join you, even if the book seems "too young." True, they may choose not to, but you may be surprised.
I always, always invite my older son to join us on the couch when I am reading to the little guy. He doesn't always want to but more often than not he comes over. I make sure to sit them on either side of me or there is a lot of shoving, pushing and complaining.
However, he joins us because... kids love picture books, even books that are supposedly "too young for them." Don't underestimate the power of an excellent picture book! Last night, I was reading Donald Crews' brilliant School Bus, a book with simple graphics and an even simpler text and big brother liked it just as much as his younger brother.
MORE: Are your children ready for chapter books? These seasonal family read aloud lists will keep everyone happy all year long!
Let the Older Child Choose Books for the Younger Child
A child who is home most of the day while his siblings are at school gets to choose books all day long! After school it is the big brother or big sister's turn to choose the books.
In our home, if big brother wants to join us on the couch (see previous strategy) I let him pick out the "baby" books, as he calls them. Although, clearly, these books are not just for babies!
It's hard for older kids when many activities must conform to the needs of the youngest. This way elder children can take more ownership in an activity involving younger siblings who seems to get all the attention. They also knows which "older kid" picture books younger siblings will tolerate, which brings me to the next strategy...
MORE: Favorite toddler books
Have Lots of Picture Books About a Mutually Loved Subject
Do your kids love dinosaurs or mermaids? Dragons or birds? Have a stack of books at all levels on those topics!
In our case the mutually loved subject is all things transportation: trucks, trains, cars, boats. You get the idea. Gail Gibbons' Trains is slightly too advanced for the younger's comprehension but he still enjoys the illustrations. The same is true for the marvelous Subway, and many similar books.
This strategy may result in fights over who gets the book once you are done reading, so be prepared.
MORE: Our favorite construction picture books
Read Wordless Books
I have an entire post about strategies to reading wordless books to kids, but one thing stands out: children love to point out what they see in the illustrations. This allows younger and older kids to learn from each other. It builds trust and interest in the other's observations and opinions! Win-win!
Let's be honest, not everything works all the time. Kids are fickle, one day they love peanut butter, the next day it is the grossest thing in the world. These reading strategies don't work every single time, but they help. In the end, ensuring your kids see that you value family reading by making an effort to read to them to together will always pay off.
Steph says
Thanks for this post, I like your ideas. Ever since Little Man became mobile he will not listen to us read books. We still try reading to him every day but we end up reading to the air while he runs around. We'll keep trying, though!
I usually read to PBug for at least an hour during Little Man's naptime because a: it's one of the few times I'm not chasing Little Man off the counters and tabletops, and b: it keeps her quiet so she doesn't wake him up from his nap (and I am usually desperate for him to take a nap).
I'm going to try the lunchtime idea!
Aly in Va says
Honestly, I've been creating a series of You Tube videos of me reading books for the two year old. I started it originally for grandma's house during the day (I could then still seem to be a part of her day) but now I've found myself putting the videos on even here around the house. I guess it's not so bad (watching tv/videos) since they are starring mommy reading aloud different books. I'm thinking about doing some chapter read alouds now for the older one too....on those days where I'm too pooped to do bedtime reading 🙁
Jackie H. says
I really like the idea of letting the older child choose a book. My 10 month old doesn't really care what we are reading yet- so I'm going to try and let the 2 year old pick out books for the baby.
Luckily, my boys do have different nap schedules (that somewhat overlap) so I try to read to them separately. The baby is just getting to the age where it's difficult because he wants to turn pages and I want him to develop book handling skills but his big brother must NOT want him to develop book handling skills.
This is a great post! Thanks for sharing.
Kerry Aradhya says
I have a 6-year-old and a 4-year-old and often struggle at reading time, too. Sometimes my husband and I both take part, so that each of us can read with one child. But I like your strategies for helping with reading time together. I am lucky that I have two girls (like you seem to have two boys) so that for the most part they are interested in the same things!
Katie says
Great post! My good friend has a 5-year-old and an 18-month-old, so I will definitely share this with her.
Erica MomandKiddo says
Thanks, Katie! I hope it helps her.
Jennifer says
I have a 20 month old and 5.5 year old and I usually try to talk my husband into putting little bro down so I can read to big bro. That doesn't always work though - little bro is a huge momma's boy right now. I find that if I put out a bunch of books, that is often enough to distract little bro (he loves books). Or I can read and they'll both listen sometimes (with little bro in my lap). Sometimes little bro will want me to read to him when big bro is doing something else and that works too since I'm sure there is only so much Good Night Moon or Five Little Monkeys big bro can take. And then sometimes, story time just isn't going to happen.
Erica MomandKiddo says
It's never the same two days in a row, that's for sure. 🙂
Hali says
Thank you for this great advice and encouragement. I have a 7 yr old and a 1 yr old and sadly bedtime reading aloud with the eldest went out the window when the baby arrived. I’m reintroducing it now and I need all the help I can get!! It was my favourite time of the day
Colleen says
I love the diet idea! I don't have any children of my own yet, but I always read during snack time to my 2nd graders 🙂