InkyThink

Today we're going to talk about reading to your kids if they happen to be of different ages. This situation comes up a lot, and sometimes you are left wondering how to choose stories both your children will enjoy.

Depending on their ages, they may enjoy listening to the same stories simply because they are only a year or two apart. A lot of children's books have a specific age range to which they are targeted; 3-5 years old, for example, or 9-12 years. In this case, choosing a book to read to your children may be easy. You could choose a book that is suitable for both of them, or alternate books; choose one geared to your older child one night, and one geared toward your younger child the next.

If you have many children of varying ages, you could try reading to the younger ones first, and then the older ones later on. If you read to your children before bedtime, this will give your younger ones a chance to get good and sleepy before you turn to reading to your older children. Also, if your older children are old enough to read on their own, perhaps you could leave them to their own books. You could read with your older children without actually reading to them by reading the same book at your own idividual paces, and then talking about it afterwards.

Most of all, you want to be sure that your children are enjoying the books they are being read. Lots of children will let you know simply by asking you to read the same book you read to them before. If you notice they tend to like a particular kind of book, try other books of the same genre. If your children are quiet and interested, or ask questions about the book during reading time you know you're on the right track!