What if Baby Doesn’t Love Books?

Maybe you have been visualizing reading to your baby since the day the strip turned blue. You may even have blown a huge portion of your ‘baby budget’ on books you hope to read with the little monkey and just can’t wait to get started. But what if baby has other plans? (They usually do.) What if, to your utter shock and distress, your baby doesn’t seem to show interest in books?

Relax. You’re not the first parent to discover that when you read, your baby turns away, looks bored or heads towards some action.

It’s too early to allow your heart to break. No. Your baby is not likely to be any less smarter just because he has missed out on a few reading sessions in his infancy. So, breathe easy.

Ok. So, baby doesn’t love books – it’s no big deal.

If at first, your baby doesn’t seem to share your love of reading, it’s probably normal. After all, with all the musical toys, TV shows and multicolored, multidimensional stimulation around, getting even older children to choose books over the other attractions could be a challenge. Your baby who’s just a few months old, is still getting to know his surroundings. It’s only natural for him to be easily distracted by noises, colors, toys and any opportunity to wriggle out of your arms and go exploring on his own.

But you, being the grown-up and all, still have the edge. There are things you can do to trick the little guy into liking books.

- Expose your baby to books. Lots of them. Bring home different kinds of baby books and leave them on the coffee table, near his crib or diaper changing station. Wherever he can see them easily and can’t help getting a little curious. (If he has a particularly destructive trait, consider buying cloth books or baby board books.)

- Let baby watch you reading. Babies tend to watch, observe and imitate grown-ups. So, if you enjoy reading yourself, you’ve probably won half the battle already. The more often baby sees you reading for pleasure, the more likely she is to show interest in books herself.

- Make fun, positive associations with reading. You could use your tone of voice to suggest it’s reading time. Or use reading time as a treat to reward her when she’s been good. Does she have a favorite spot or room? (Under the table, beside the fridge or the near the laundry?) Make that your reading corner.

- Make reading seem mysterious. “Hmm…I wonder what book we’ll find to read today.”  Get her excited about the prospect of reading something new, as you look for the ‘perfect’ book in her shelf.

- Give her some alone time with books. Leave your baby in her playpen, crib or a safe play area for a few minutes with some books and no other toys to distract her. She is bound to pick up one of them and begin to explore it in her own way. Set aside some time everyday for your baby to be around books by herself.

- Take her to story time. Check your library for weekly story-time and other activities for your child’s age group. Many bookstores also have weekly reading programs for kids. Make it a point to take her to at least one of these regularly. Here, your baby watches others her age with books in their hands or being read to. She also has the advantage of being read to by professionals. Besides, there’s something about the atmosphere in these places that attracts one to books, even a stubborn baby who doesn’t like books.

- Read anyway. It would be great if your baby responded by showing interest in what you were reading.  But, even if she doesn’t*, keep going. Sometimes, kids may not appear to be paying attention, but you’d be surprised if you knew how much they had registered even with casual listening. So, even if your baby isn’t looking at the book or does not appear to be listening to you reading, read anyway.  For all you know she is absorbing and assimilating it all in her own unique way.

* – At your baby’s next well-baby visit, bring up any concerns you have about your baby’s developmental milestones – observation, attention spans, interests etc that you notice. The pediatrician may be able to put your concerns to rest.

Give it a break.  If even after trying consistently for a few weeks, your baby really doesn’t seem to favor reading much, becomes fussy or distracted whenever you start reading, almost always ignores her picture or board books and prefers to play with other toys, maybe it’s best to take a break. Maybe she’s really not interested in books at the moment. Remind yourself that that’s perfectly ok and that even though you’re not reading to her, you still have several other ways of helping her learn. So, take your baby’s lead and figure out what kinds of activities really get her excited.

After all, if your baby knows what she wants and how to get it, you’ve got to admit – she’s already ahead in the game.