Baby Hates Books?

She IS showing an interest in books. Read almost any article or book on babies and books and they all say the same thing. Their interest will change over time and that the important thing is to expose them to books. Even a baby who thinks a book is a toy (or teething ring) is a positive thing. I think you are expecting a bit much from a 9 month old. let her explore her books in whatever way she sees fit and eventually she will become a book lover, just like her mommy.

I wouldn't get too stressed out about it, as she is still very young. It wasn't until about 16 mos old that my daughter really fell in love with books. Even now (5 mos later) we still go in "phases" week by week as to whether she's interested in looking/reading books. So many skills to learn, she has to divide her time!!! ;-)

She REALLY likes books that involve some type of interaction, like opening little flaps (similar to a Lenten calendar) or it has "trinkets" in the book (thinking of a Dr. Seuss book that has a string hanging out that represents hair or piece in page that moves to move the character, etc.). These "moveable" books are probably more expensive, but definitely her favorites!

I didn't get through the other responses but with my kids I would read to them when they were somewhat confined at that age. I used to read books while they were in the bath and now I read with my 3 year old on my lap and my almost 2 year old in his crib where he stands and can listen and doesn't run all around the room ignoring me which is what he does when he is not in the crib.
Hope this helps.

Hi, A.:
What does the fact that you are an avid reader have to do with your
baby liking books?

Just want to know.
D.

She doesn't hate books, she likes to chew them. :)

She's perfectly normal and just because she's not interested in books now doesn't mean she won't be someday (just think, she poops in a diaper now and someday she'll learn to use the potty - things change). At 9 months old, EVERYTHING is new to her. She's finally figured out how to use those hand things and she wants to get them on everything she can!

We have a TON of books with torn pages or bite marks or half peeled off covers from those days. My son is almost 2 now and he'd spend the whole day reading if he could.

Let her explore her world, read her some books during quite time and try not to worry too much (about this at least, as moms it's our job to worry).

Don't worry....my youngest (almost 3) used to "hate" books too at that age....

That was sad for me too, since my husband, our older son and I absolutely looooooooove books....

When Alexander turned about 1 1/2 his interest in books changed and now he is just as interested in books as his bookworm brother !!!!

Give her time....but don't give up.....tried to engage her in the daily story time, whether she sits with you while you read or not.....eventually she'll creep onto your lap......

She's 9 months old, lol! She's not going to have a concept of what a book really is for. She sounds like a typical baby to me. I think if you find a 9 month old baby who will sit in your lap while you read them a book is great but they're there for the cuddling or the soothing of Mom's voice. They don't get the concept. So if she's not "interested", that's ok. I would keep reading to her while she's playing on the floor. Chewing is natural at this age. They're not going to know not to chew a book anymore than they would know not to chew an electrical cord. They're teething and babies have an oral fixature for exploring before anything else. Just keep reading the book so she stays familiar with books and as time goes by she'll learn to enjoy them more as she understands them more. But she's being read to, hearing your voice and being soothed. This is also good for speech as children learn receptive speech (what they take in) before they learn expressive speech (what they spew back out). Your baby is normal and there's nothing to worry about. Just don't force it down her throat on days that she's not interested so you don't put a negative feel to it.

K. B
mom to 5 including triplets

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She is very very young... to "sit" and "read" a book. They cannot do that at this age, at will. A baby also does not have impulse control... and kids will not have that until much older.
She is a baby... be careful in expecting too much, too soon. She is acting age appropriately. She does not "dislike" books per say, as an adult would understand it. She is merely exploring her world... and at this mere age, things are not yet understood. She is not even 2 years old yet. By that age, they then get the point of what a book is for and about.

At her age, they get more exploratory... and move around a lot. That is what a baby does, once they are able to not just be on a lap idle.

There is nothing "wrong" with her... and as she gets older, she will develop her own interests, unique to her.
In the meantime, sure you can read to her. But don't expect it to be something that is prolonged, nor that she "read" as you do. And even reading to her, even though she may be doing something else, is beneficial too. Or, just her seeing YOU read and doing your thing, is also a good thing for a child to "see" their parent doing. It influences them.

Please don't feel "miffed" at her. A baby this age, does not have any defined likes/dislikes/life long interests or hobbies yet.
Their brain is not even fully developed yet... and the brain is not fully developed until 26 or 27 years old.

the book "What To Expect The First Year" is really great and explains each age juncture.
Mostly, keep "expectations" age appropriate. Otherwise, it will be frustrating for both.

All the best,
Susan

I didn't read the responses you got, but I did read your response to them. I'm sorry others weren't helpful. Here is my advice (if it matches what you've already gotten, then I'm sorry for repeating it).
I have 2 boys; one is 2 & 1/2 and the other is 12 months. I too am an avid reader & I was also concerned a little with my oldest not showing an interest in reading. He now LOVES reading.
First, you need to relax & try not to stress sooo much. My boys were not interested in reading at all at that age (or before). I had friends whose children would sit still for stories before bed or during the day, but my boys wouldn't.. If I did manage to get them to sit still, they were mostly interested in chewing the books or turning the pages. Not actually looking at the pictures or listening to the story.
At 9 months I'm guessing your daughter has recently learned to crawl or is starting to cruise. Right now the most interesting & exciting thing to her is learning how to move. That's what she SHOULD be interested in. She should be exploring her environment & learning about everything around her. Sitting still is a lot to expect from a child this age, especially if they are curious. This does NOT mean that she won't like or even LOVE books eventually. She's just too busy right now.
What I did: At this stage I just let my boys do what ever they were interested in. Sometimes I would sit on the floor, while they were playing around me & I would read one of there books. I would make it sound really interesting. I would say things like "Wow! Look at this HUGE elephant!" or "This red car is BEAUTIFUL!". I would not try to get them involved. I would just try to make reading look like fun. Get books with big pictures of animals, most kids find animals facinating. Also, get books about things she likes to play with. My boys love books with cars, trucks & dinosaurs. I'm not sure what girls would like, but i'm sure you do. Let her come and look at the book you are reading (I would have it laying flat on the ground so she can see it from any side). And let her come and go as she wants.
Also get some flap books. Fisher price little people make some great flap books that my boys love.
Both my boys started getting into books after they mastered walking (12 months for my youngest & about 14 months for the oldest). Mastered walking, not started walking. They now bring me books to read to them. My oldest even takes books & pretends to read to himself or his stuffed animals now.
One more tip, make sure your daughter sees you reading books yourself. A lot of research has been done that says kids who see their parents enjoy reading are more likely to enjoy it themselves. I read almost every day in front of my sons. And now my oldest will climb into my lap & ask me to read the words in my book to him.
Good luck. I'm sure she will enjoy reading soon.

My 8 1/2 month old son does the same thing. It really bothered me, having taught reading for 9 years! I have seen some glimmers recently that are more encouraging.
Like a previous poster mentioned, I let him chew one book and I read another. When he grabs for mine, I start reading his chewed one. We never actually finish any books that way though!
He also really likes this book of family pictures. They have them at BRU; they're just empty photo sleeves that are chewable and have a nice chewy handle. We put pictures of family inside. The bigger the faces and more familliar the people the better.
He also now likes a Scholastic touch and feel shapes book. I scratch the triangle, then he does. He flips the pages of that one a lot. He also likes a page that has a hole through it. Sometimes, we stick our fingers and tongues through it!
He's starting to get into categorizing things and looking where I point. For example, I open a book with a picture of a puppy, then I point to his stuffed animal puppy and the puppy on his bib and just keep saying "puppy." He looks like he's thinking about it for a few seconds!
I do "read" him a couple of Dr. Seuss books I've memorized during diaper or food time. He seems to enjoy them like he seems to enjoy songs. I do "Hickory Dickory Dock" every time the clock chimes, and now he looks to me to see if I'll do it.
I hope one of these ideas work for you. If you have any breakthroughs with other ideas, let me know! I really want my son to love reading too!

I wouldn't worry about it. Let her use the books as toys, to chew on, play with, whatever. Let her learn to love them in her own way. That's what the experts say and it does work. Like you, I'm an avid reader and LOVE books and I would cringe internally every time they ripped a page or broke a binding, but I forced myself to let it go. But now my twins are 5 and they enjoy books a lot. My son probably started typing words by age 3 and can now spell words far above their age level (5th grade). My daughter is ahead of their age group, but a little behind her brother on the complexity of words she can spell. (Oh, BTW, clear packing tape is the best for repairing books for when she gets upset that she broke one.)

Use the books differently. Open a board book with shapes, put it on the floor and ask "where's the red circle?", "can you see a bunny?" etc. Then you can add a "oh, look, the words say it's a red circle" as you point to the words after she's found it. Adjust your games based on what SHE likes to do. Making books/reading fun can be more than sitting and reading to them.

One of the tricks I used to encourage reading was anytime we watched a movie, I put on the subtitles, so the words were on the screen. Used the closed captioning for TV shows. There was a time when they would get upset when a show didn't have "letters." Now they turn it on and off themselves depending on whether they want to read the movie story. I used to wonder whether my daughter was really reading (she's not our "look what I can do" kid), then one day I heard her reading the subtitles for things like "wind blowing", "screeching noise" and I stopped worrying.

Mine still won't sit quietly for longer stories (which I'd love to do with them), but they read every sign they can, the backs of cereal boxes, etc. I'm working with the shorter stories, but concentrating on reinforcing reading comprehension now. If we're cooking food, they tell me that I need a recipe, go grab any book and come back and pretend to read a "recipe" from it. I guess my point is, find ways to develop a love of reading without making it uncomfortable or feeling like work to her.

When she's a little older, I suggest the Leapfrog DVDs. They've got a few that teach the alphabet, simple words and complex words that my kids loved.

I also have a 9 month old and all that he wants to do is chew on them too! i wouldn't worry about it....just keep reading to her...even if she's doing something else. She's still hearing your voice and i'm sure is listening to you too!

My first son didn't want anything to do with books at all...then when he was about a year old, i got him a pop up book. he loved them so maybe when she gets a bit older, try one of those! he ripped it to shreds so don't get an expensive one (maybe look on eBay or garage sales or something) but that got him back into books!

She's way too young to care about books. My 8 month old only chews on books. My other two avid bookaholics, 2 and 4, didn't really care about books until they were one-ish, maybe older, I don't remember. Don't sweat it. Don't force it. You are already disappointed she doesn't love what you love. Relax! There is PLENTY of time for her to love books.

It may just be a phase. She's probably found something she enjoys doing more, especially now that she's becoming more mobile.

Don't give up. Keep the books where she can get to them if she wants them, and pick up a book and read it out load. At least she'll see that you enjoy reading and hopefully in time, she'll want to join you.

I appreciate where you are coming from. I am also an avid reader. My daughter also showed no interest in books at your daughter's age, and I can say that by ten or twelve months she was choosing to page through them herself and requesting that we read them together. I would start by focusing on the language more than books as objects. Choose a book with a catchy rhyme (Chicka Chicka ABC, comes to mind) and recite the rhyme to her during playtime or diaper changes. Make it playful -- look at her instead of the book. You could also try nursery rhymes or look online for sing-song rhymes that can incorporate gestures, bouncing or something kinesthetic to engage her. Keep the books available to her, and keep trying gently. As many of the mom's below have recommened - I would counsel patience first and foremost. It may be frustrating, but if your daughter is anything like mine pushing or insisting will only backfire. Good luck!

My daughter didn't like books either, until around 12 months. I was bummed too, but she just turned around one day and now will happily read with me or even sit by herself and flip through books. I think some kids just need more time to tune into the joy books can be! The best thing to do, in my opinion, is to keep letting them see you read -- which can be hard to do while running around after them! :)

My daughter wouldn't let me read a whole book to her untill she was 15 months old. It was very frustrating for me, because I read to my son every night since he was born and he still loves stories at age 4. I don't know how to make your baby like books. Just letting you know that not every kid likes books. I just kept trying to read to her once in a while and if she let me read a whole book then great, but if she would fuss I would just put the book down.

I have a similar problem with my 13 mo old twins. They used to LOVE me reading to them. But in the past couple of months, they just want to handle the books themselves, they rarely let me read to them. I am bummed, but I'm guessing it's just a phase. I've read that at this age they are developing "pre-reading" skills: learning to hold the book, turn the pages, etc. To preserve being able to read to them on a daily basis, I read to them while they drink their pre-bedtime milk. Their hands are occupied with the milk and they're calm, so they'll usually let me read then.

I feel your pain. My son was always interested in books but my daughter (now 11 months) was not, except for chewing on them.

The tricks I've tried:
- Reading her books even when she was playing with something else. Young babies are very good at multi-task and even though she is not paying attention, she notices that you are reading a book. I'd do that everyday, a book in the morning and one in the afternoon.
- Going to the library with her. A new place is always exiting and suddenly all toys are books. And you can take the opportunity to read one aloud or show some pictures and see if a special style catches her attention (at this age, they usually like picture books with baby aces such as "Global Babies", more for the other babies than for the books but a good place to start.
- Buy a couple of "sensory" books, either board or cloth, with textures inside (like a puffy puppy tail...) and leave them with her toys to touch and explore and "feel"
- Read a lot yourself, in front of her (the newspaper, magazines...) so she sees how interesting it is and how much you enjoy it. Children like to copy the parents.
- read a book when you cuddle at bedtime, so she associate this special time with reading/books. Even if she lets you read only one page, it's OK. After a few days of the routine, she will let you read 2 pages...

For me, my daughter was not interested at all in books at 9 months, only chewing them/tearing them apart. She is now 11 months and still chews on them but when we cuddle for bedtime, she is the one reaching for the book to be read. And Ive seen her a couple of time pulling some board books from her shelf and turning a couple of pages.

Patience. She doesn't hate books, she is just very busy with many things and doesn't know yet the wonders they can bring.

My first didn't care for books much at first either. She mostly just chewed them. I can't remember when she finally started wanting me to read to her, but now at 3.5 she loves books. Sometimes we read one, other times we read 5. When your daughter is a little older (over a year) you'll start to have a better idea of what kinds of things she really likes and that will help you buy books she will be more interested in. We did more picture books than anything. Her favorites were the animal books so I made sure to get lots of those. Priddy has a lot of good books for that age.

Now my youngest, at 16 months, isn't really interested in reading right now. I realized it was because he isn't into the same books as my daughter was. He is into the typical boy stuff. We just started getting the "How Dinosaurs...." and all though he doesn't sit with us when I read, he wanders around the room but comes back every once in a while to growl at the dinosaurs...he's getting there! Yours will too!

I know you've gotten a lot of responses already, but I wanted to chime in. I have to agree with the posts that say not to worry too much about it. All babies are different and she might really enjoy being read too a little later. Also, I wanted to suggest you try making up your own stories, and adding her as a character in them. They don't have to be to complex, but she might be interested in a story about her. This way you can introduce the idea that a story is a fun thing and it may peak her curiosity. I did this with my son when he was younger before bed time. We'd sit in his dimly lit room and it was hard for me to read to him so I would make up little stories for him. He really enjoyed it, especially when I would add him into the mix. He's 4 now and he likes being read too and is interested in books and words. Focus on what's really fun about reading...the story.

Thats all that my daughter wanted to do at that age too. She would look at the pictures a little, and then chew like crazy. What I did was keep reading to her (very short stories) and put her books on her bookshelf in her room on the bottom shelf where she could get to them. Once she was crawling, at about 1 year, she was into those books constantly. Just give it a little time.

Is she working on crawling or walking or some other new skill? She may just be more interested in something else right now and doesn't want to sit still. I think she'll come around, especially if you keep reading to her and let her see you reading on your own. I remember that my daughter would not sit still very often to read a book with me until she was about a year to 18 months old. She sometimes looked at them on her own, but more often than not, they were chewed, tossed, stacked like blocks, worn as hats, used for chairs, etc. She's almost five now and LOVES books (and cringes when she sees even a tiny tear on a page, so she eventually learned to respect them!).

Have you tried lying on the floor near her and reading out loud while she's playing with a toy or something? If you make the story sound interesting enough, she may be enticed to come over to see what's going on with the book. I made so many ridiculous sounds while reading "Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?"; it really got her attention and she started trying to make the same sounds.

In addition to regular books and board books, we had a few really large board books (like the size of a magazine) that she could "hide" behind, and several sets of tiny (about 2" X 2") board books that could double as blocks, sorting toys, etc. She also had a plastic photo album that she could chew on. I put pictures of her cousins in it, and she loved to look at it. Maybe fill one with pics of her favorite toys, or just pics of her? There are a couple of books called "Gallop" and "Swing" that have a very cool motion thing (I don't know how to explain it -- it's called scanimation or something like that) when you turn the pages. My daughter especially liked books that had pictures of other babies in them. We even had a couple of plastic books for the bath tub.

I made sure her books were always accessible to her -- on low shelves or tables, a couple on her blanket while playing on the floor, etc. And she always had a few in the car. Some of the books didn't make it out of her infancy, but some are still on the shelf with her teeth marks around the edges. They are precious!

Keep working with her. If she's not interested in one, try another. My daughter rarely liked the books that I enjoyed reading to her, but she found a few favorites and I had to read them over and over. Some of them were very generic, and some were more “licensed” than I would have preferred, and most were just plain silly ("Elmo's ABC", "Babies Go Everywhere") but it was a book, and she was looking at it, so whatever! Good luck!

I'd give my son one book to chew on and then read him another. Some days it just didn't work out, at that age he didn't really get the point of a book (for reading) he had things to DO, like chew on stuff and crawl around. Just be sure to make to books fun, don't demand that she listen to a story.
I know I was kind of bummed until I thought about it, I'd had this mental picture of snuggling with my kid while I read aloud since that's what I remember about MY childhood, and it didn't dawn on me that these memories aren't from when I was nine months old and that at nine months old I was probably chewing on books too.
(And at 17 months he's started to really enjoy pop up books. It's not quite Sherlock Holmes yet but I'll take it.)

I used to read books to my son during dinner. For us, it was the books that made him sit still long enough to eat, but maybe it would work the other way around too? He's 8 now, and still has trouble focusing long enough to read. I sometimes read books to him when he's in the bath.
He used to like lift-the-flap or pop-ups because they were more like a toy. He didn't go through the bored-with-books stage until age 4 after his heart surgery. It made me sad that he wouldn't sit on my lap to hear a story any more, but I just figured that he was going through more of a physical stage that he had missed before.

I know you don't want to hear this, but this is totally normal. 9 months is a really a movement-based time. She's learning to crawl and move herself around... and books aren't very good for that. You could try to put the books just out of her reach and see if she'll crawl to them, but they all go through different developmental phases and this is just one of them.

My 29 mo son is a huge reader (he knows all his letters and is starting to recognize some words) and he didn't like books at 9 months. We have, however, read to him before bed every single night of his life. The language acquisition phase really comes after a year, and while it is great to try to support it from the beginning, I wouldn't take her rejection of an intimate object at 9 months to mean that she won't be a reader. And you CAN read to her... just read. She doesn't have to be looking at the book for you to read to her. She'll get that you are reading to her and that you like books, and that will be a good thing. Sure beats having the television droning on in the background! But again, at 9 months, their attention span is about 30 seconds. 3-4 little board books in a day is plenty of reading, especially if that's just not her thing right now.

If you are really worried about this, bring it up with her doctor to make sure that her eyes are working appropriately, and that she doesn't have anything physically that would make looking at books uncomfortable or unproductive. But I would guess that you're just a tad unrealistic about your expectations. (Something that I've been told a NUMBER of times about my son, lol.)

Her behavior sounds very age appropriate. Just keep reading... My 11-year old still loves to be read to and your daughter will too. Use short books, like the big cardboard baby books. I would also give Dr. Seuss a try. They're fun for the real little ones to listen to because of the funny language and the rhyming. If you love to read, it may rub off when she's the right age, 9 mos. is a little young to judge whether she likes or doesn't like reading. Even my 11 year old made a switch from the bottom of the class at reading (D-) to the top (A+) in just 6 months.
S.

thats normal my oldest child did that and now he is 20 and will read a harry potter book in 2 days They have no attention span at that age it will more than likely pass.