How long do you spend reading your 3 yo bedtime stories?
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Anonymous
Not sure, it depends on whether he napped.  Number of books depends on that and how long the books are. If it is a long book, I warn him, "this is a really long book; this will be our only book tonight." Sometimes he tries to bargain for another (ok, usually!), saying, "one more!" or "a short one!" I think it was 20 minutes tonight for one long book (with a para on each page), but I wasn't watching the clock. It was a no-nap day. Otherwise I could have read longer. The bedtime routine was about 40 min total.
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Anonymous
| 30 minutes at least. Thankfully, DH does the reading while I clean up for the night. Then I usually come in to sit and talk with her in the dark for another 15 minutes. I would probably not be able to read as long as DH. I'm a SAHM and she does not nap. |
Anonymous
| it used to be 30 min, and that would KILL me! Now I read one book, and read one from memory that's fun to read together ie/ Robert Munch book. 10 min we're done! She rolls over and sleeps...we have reading times other days of the week where we go to bookstores and read several books, or her dad takes over bedtime and then he can do whatever he wants ( usually doesn't know how to say no to DD, so 3+ books are read and it's a long process). |
Anonymous
| We Try to keep it under 15 min. If DD picks three long books, a lot of words or pages get skipped! I only get called on it sometimes.... |
Anonymous
| We do about 15 minutes, give or take. One long book and 2 short ones or 4 short ones or 2 long, one short, etc. |
Anonymous
| One book (if it's a long one). Short ones (maybe a couple). Never more than 15 mintues though...I'm tired as hell. |
Anonymous
This is cute.
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Anonymous
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Anonymous
| We read 3 short books (like Sandra Boynton board books) or we read 1-2 longer books. Or sometimes 1-2 longer books and 1 board book if I'm feeling generous. Storytime really only takes 10-15 minutes a night. On weekends, there's usually some daytime storytime in there somewhere too. I love reading and we own a ton of books, but 3-year-olds don't have the longest attention spans. |
Anonymous
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45 minutes. (And I'm a Dad... is this long storytime a guy thing?). Followed by about 10 minutes of songs.
DS is very high energy, and this routine is about the only thing that will get him wound down enough to actually sleep. Only problem is that it seems to put me to sleep just as well as it does him. |
Anonymous
| All of you who read 20-30 minutes, do you have other children? I have a 3 year old and a 4 month old and there is no way I can fit 30 minutes into my already over packed weeknight schedule. But maybe things would be different if I wasn't doing bedtime alone. |
Anonymous
| I read to my 2.5 y/o and 4.5 y/o together at bedtime. Usually, they each get to pick one book, but about 2-3 times a week or if they've both chosen short books, we keep reading. I'd say 20-30 minutes is the norm. If DH reads to them, which is rare, it's about a 5 minute speed story. We don't read regularly during the day, but we do have quiet time, when they "read" to themselves. I love eavesdropping as they either make up stories to go with the pictures or recite a book by memory. |
Anonymous
us too. |
Anonymous
Same here--and I very often skip lines here and there to shorten long books. (Can't do that with my seven year old anymore, he can read!) I don't feel bad about it--I have another child (older) and so my husband and I alternate nights reading to each child. My husband tends to read longer than I do, but I lie there and cuddle and talk longer than he does once the lights are out. |
Anonymous
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Depends on the night. Last night it was 45 mins b/c DD selected Busy Town, which takes an hour to get through if you are reading it to a 3 yo who happened to take a 2.5 hr nap that day. But typically, it's between 15 and 30 mins. Sometimes only 10 if it's a late night. But always at least 1 book, typically 2-3.
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