How do you read to your 2 children at night?

[Anonymous]

My kids are 4&5 - and up until now we have always read their books on my lap in the big glider we have had since they were infants. However, they are now too big and say they are too hot to squish in like this on my lap.

They share a room and both twin beds have wrought iron headboards, which aren't too comfy to lean against, and neither bed side is against a wall - plus three of us can't really fit in a twin either.

How does everyone else with 2 kids read to them before bed!? (This shouldn't be such a mystery to me, but somehow I have no idea.)

[Anonymous]

I sit on the floor -- cross legged usually -- and the kids come and go. But they are younger and with shorter attention spans than ideal.

[Anonymous]

Have always read on the floor.

[Anonymous]

On the floor but I am thinking about buying a little love seat for their bedrooms.

[Anonymous]

My older son is ok with sitting on the edge of the bed but we are reading on the couch in the living room more often as they get bigger.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I sit on the floor -- cross legged usually -- and the kids come and go. But they are younger and with shorter attention spans than ideal.

Are you leaning against anything?

[Anonymous]

Some nights DH and I each read with a kid on their (full size) beds. Some nights we read on the family room couch. Most nights we read both kids and DH or me on DH's and my king size bed, either parent in the middle with kids sitting on either side, all leaned against headboard, legs outstretched for parent reading but then 5 year old DS reads one book and he sits across from parent and 3 year old and reads like he is a teacher, showing each picture, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some nights DH and I each read with a kid on their (full size) beds. Some nights we read on the family room couch. Most nights we read both kids and DH or me on DH's and my king size bed, either parent in the middle with kids sitting on either side, all leaned against headboard, legs outstretched for parent reading but then 5 year old DS reads one book and he sits across from parent and 3 year old and reads like he is a teacher, showing each picture, etc.

This may be the way forward.

[Anonymous]

Our kids are much older and we sit in the living room.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our kids are much older and we sit in the living room.

OP here. I dread moving the operation too much because then we'll have books all over the house. At the moment they are all nicely contained in the kids' bedroom...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our kids are much older and we sit in the living room.

OP here. I dread moving the operation too much because then we'll have books all over the house. At the moment they are all nicely contained in the kids' bedroom...

Yes, it's much easier when you're at the point of just reading from one "chapter book" over many nights.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our kids are much older and we sit in the living room.

OP here. I dread moving the operation too much because then we'll have books all over the house. At the moment they are all nicely contained in the kids' bedroom...

This has always been my reasoning too (i'm a pp on the floor) but it is actually nice for the kids to have books downstairs because then reading is not limited to before bed. At least for us, it was good to put another book shelf downstairs (had to control the overflow) for that reason.

[Anonymous]

This is definitely a first world problem, but it's what this board is for!

I have 2 kids, one 3 and the other 6, so our battle is whose book gets read. if it's the older one, it's a longer book and the 3 year old gets bored. If it's a short book, my older daughter wants to read it to us and the younger one gets upset because she only wants me to read. So sometimes we separate them. I'm envisioning bean bags in their room down the road for reading -- to themselves or all of us together.

[Anonymous]

We all sit on the edge of the single bed...kids lean against me (or DH).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our kids are much older and we sit in the living room.

OP here. I dread moving the operation too much because then we'll have books all over the house. At the moment they are all nicely contained in the kids' bedroom...

My ideal house has books all over the house.