Reading to 1 Year Olds/Potty Training

Hi K.

He may still be too young. The books I read to my son were Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown, it is very busy so you might point out some of the animals in the story. If you take a look there is a small mouse almost on every colored page. See if he can find the mouse. That might keep him interested. Other books my kids loved were Time for Bed by Mem Fox, Moo, Baa, La La LA By Sandra Boynton, Ten in the Bed By Penny Dale. All of these books repeat alot and that is what children love. The problem is they like them so much you tend to read them over, and over again, but it's worth it. If he is still not interested give him 3 or 4 months and try again. He will eventually love being read to.

As for Potty training they will let you know when they are ready. There are little signs. Unfortunetly boys are a little behind in the potty training. My son didn't really start until he was almost 3. Studies say that is average for boys. So you have plenty time before he will start to potty train.

Good Luck
C. :)

Hey K.,

Reading is something u have to keep at (very important). I too have a one plus yr old (15mths). I went or is going through the same thing. At time he will pick up the books on his own. I suggest taking him to Barnes and Nobles for their reading/story time on Wednesdays, that way he can see other kids listening and interacting wth reading. Also try reading at a time when he is mellow like bedtime.
I started potty training my son at one. Now he pees in there without a problem. I just sit him on there at least once every hour. Start off by putting him on when he just wakes u will get a good flow then. Trust me he will get the concept. My son now wears pull ups. He wont go on his own but once I take him he sits and does his thing (even #2).

All The Best
G. F

As far as potty training, I think a year is really young. I would wait for some readiness signs, like him telling you he wants to be changed. Or him telling you he went pee or poo. Another sign is being dry on waking from naps or staying dry for several hours at a time. It's also really normal for their interest to increase and decrease too. I brought out the potty when my daughter was about 18 months and kept it next to the toilet in the bathroom. She would occasionally pee in it if she was in the bathroom with me. Then she lost all interest. She just turned two and out of the blue has been insisting on going "peepee on the potty" before her naps and bedtime. We're still not pushing anything. But, it's a heck of a lot easier when they're really interested.

As far as reading, for a long time, my daughter wasn't that into it either. What got her interested was a book with a lot of pictures and words labelling the pictures. She loved looking at the pictures and before she could talk well, I'd ask her to find stuff. "Where's the doggy?" Then she'd point to the dog. "Can you find the blocks?" And she'd point to the blocks. Then as she got more verbal, I'd point to objects and ask her to name them. She really liked that kind of interactive reading. I would keep reading to your son anyway, even if he's not sitting down with you. I made reading before her nap part of our routine. Even if she wasn't interested in sitting, I'd read a few pages of a book and eventually her attention span for a book got longer. If nothing else, it was a nice quiet winding down activity before nap.

K.,

Everyone has given you good advise. I am a SAHM of 3 boys. For each of them the reading thing has been a bit different. All of my boys have loved to be read to from the beginning. Finding something your child likes and working with that is key. Like my boys I have found that buying books that they had an interest in with such things like Hot Wheels, Thomas the Train, Curious George, etc... that really helped with me reading to them. However when it came to the potty training that was a different story. Boys can be a little more difficult to potty train than girls. My boys are ages 13, 5 and 2 1/2. Both my 13 and 5 year old were 3 almost 3 1/2 before they were fully potty trained, and believe me it wasn't for the lack of trying. My oldest just had no interest in the potty as long as it was me trying to train him, it had to be my ex-husband. Now as for my two youngest boys and my husband now, I do the potty training. With my 5 year old I had to have patience and consistency. I just waited for the signs that he was ready. He would be dry for long periods of time, he would tell me that he was wet or dirty and he showed interest in the potty. The other delay with my 5 year old was he didn't start talking until he was 3 years old, he was diagnosed with speech delay at 2 years which can also slow down other milestones that you would normally expect at a certain age. I can report that is no longer the case. As for the 2 1/2 year old, we are now just waiting for the signs that he is ready to begin and I will follow his queue as to when and how to start.

Follow your intuition. Your are the mother and you know your child best.

Good Luck.

S.
SAHM of 3 boys

hi K.,
my son is 14 months old and he does not want to sit still for a minute to listen to me read him a book...so i guess each child is different, but i decided to wait for awhile longer.
with potty training i have got a little seat that goes on the big potty, i sit my son up there in the morning when he wakes up and about 50% of the time he pees while sitting on itand i make a big huge deal about it :-)
however,i think its a little too early for him to be truely potty training because he can't say "pee" or "poo" yet.
i am going to wait til he is about 18 months old to really try getting into it more.
good luck
D.

Your 1 year old is totally normal. He may not start sitting to hear a story for a while, but you can still read to him. They say kids absord everything that is going on around them if if they appear not to be focusing on specific things. Board books, books with things that move or sensory things are great at this age. Read the story out loud, get invovled with the pages talk about the colors you see, the faces, emotions, be really into it. He may come by to see what all the excitement is about, he may want to hold the book himself--let him. My husband used to say WHO are you reading to? Because I'd be there reading and having a great time, my daughter would be playing with her toys, seemingly totally oblivious to me and whatever book I was reading. But she is now 2 and a half and loves books and has many of the prereading skills. Also find the library in your area.(Great source of all different kinds of books for free!) All of the broward county libraries have story times during the week. And 1 is definitely not too young to introduce him to the library. And the NOVA library has a mother goose story time for 0-36 months Thurs 10:30am. They read two stories, sing songs and play with toys.

Potty training is a personal choice. I started potty training at 1--my daughter walked early and my mom suggested that I begin as soon as she was walking. However, it took almost an entire year to get her trained, so I don't suggest that you should rush out and get a potty. If I had it to do over I WOULD NOT HAVE RUSHED HER. Most moms I know have started at two, and have been successful within months. I even know someone who didn't potty train until three and it took a couple of weeks(Ideal except for the cost of diapers for 3 years). Boys typically begin a bit later than girls because of the coordination it requires. General rule of thumb, if he seems interested introduce it, let him go to the potty with dad. Make it enjoyable. Don't stress about it, if he loses interest stop and start again in two months, eventually we all get it--you know he won't be going to college in diapers. Cheer him on--we always celebrated when she went peepee in the potty. Some people use stickers as rewards, we used popsicle sticks that she traded for small prizes. If he has an accident, don't berate him take it in stride c'est la vie, it will happen just make sure you have an extra pair of pants, underwear and a diaper just in case.

I am sure you are doing a great job. Good luck. Remember to Trust your instincts and enjoy your baby!

When your looking at books wit your 1yr. old don't try to read the words just look at the pictures, and find things in the book he might like such as dogs, boats, balls and so on. Just start out with picture books or books that are also songs. His attention span will get longer as he gets older. As far as potty training goes every child is so different. I have 2 boys. The oldest trained right at
2 1/2. I just finished training the other one and he will be 3 in May. Watch for signs like waking up from a nap dry, or staying dry for longer time frames. I trained one with potty candy and the other with potty popcorn. Hope these thoughts help.