April 10, 2007 2:35 PM
Security blankets come in all shapes and sizes
Hi Barbara,My daughter turned 2 a month ago. One of her favorite times of day is when she reads books with me or Daddy, be it in the morning or afternoon for fun, or just before naptime or bedtime. Usually she likes a whole variety of books. A few weeks ago, she started begging for one of her all-time favorites - Richard Scarry's Best Word Book Ever - the really old one - the same exact one I had as a kid, actually!.
Now, this is ALL she will read. At bedtime, she absolutely has to have this book, and will want to take a long time poring over each page with one of us. Every now and then, she'll let us read some other book, but only after going through this book together (and it's a long book!). In essence, it doesn't seem like we've had story time lately, it seems like we've had Best Word Book Ever time! Over and over and over again...
You get my point. My question is this - is it a good thing that she can be so preoccupied with one book for so long? Should we encourage reading other books right now, for the sake of variety? Or should we just cave in and read this one for as long as she wants? I can see the good side of this book holding her concentration, but I also wonder why she doesn't seem as interested in her other books. I just wasn't sure if we should encourage her to focus on something else.
Thanks for your wisdom on this! You are very much appreciated...
T
I wrote this back:
Dear T -I've been through that book obsession with a few of my kids too. I just pretty much do what you're doing now - try to steer my child to other books, but certainly not do away with the fave (which is almost like a security blanket).
Just give it time. You might say, "Mommy's tired of reading that book, but you may read it on your own if you like. Let me know if you want me to read a new one."
I know how you feel though. I think I've read Green Eggs and Ham at least a thousand times. :)
But then, a couple more emails revealed that the parents had just moved to a foreign country a month before. Ah-ha! So the book IS a security object, and so I would say indulge your child for a little while. Things like moves and new babies are very hard on kids, who have no way to explain their emotions to us - or themselves.
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Comments
We've read Green Eggs and Ham a bunch too!!! AND the Cat in the Hat. Those Dr. Seuss books can really be tongue twisters when you're tired. For us a favorite book became like a security blanket when we moved. My almost 3 year old held on to Brown Bear Brown Bear by Eric Carle and had to have it everywhere we went when we moved. I think it comforted her to have something familiar around. It's a favorite now with our 3rd child as well. Very well worn, but VERY well loved. I like the suggestion of letting the child read it on her own and trying to find another book to share together.
Angie
Posted by: angie | April 10, 2007 3:17 PM
Amusing, barely related story. Last September, while visiting my sister and her family, my nephews asked me to read to them. The second or third book they brought to me was "Green Eggs and Ham." Being in the mood to be funny, I made the mistake of reading through the book as fast I can. My older nephew, Liam was greatly amused by the feat. (Well, that and the fact that I'd occasionally stop just long enough to take a panting breath between pages.) In fact, he was so amused that he started looking for every Dr. Seuss book they had in the house just to see me do it again.
I learned an important lesson that day. Don't do silly things like that in front of children unless you're prepared to make it a regular exercise.
Posted by: Jarred | April 10, 2007 4:32 PM
Richard Scarry's Best Word Book Ever was my absolute favorite for a long time when I was a kid. After having my first child I spotted it in a book store and got emotional and hugged it all the way to the cash register. The same thing happened when I found Nothing Ever Happens On My Block in a school library and they let me trade the tattered old thing with a brand new Franklin book. Nothing Ever Happens On My Block is way out of print, so they were happy with the Franklin Goes To School book!
Posted by: Kelly | April 11, 2007 9:59 AM
I can still recite "Old Hat, New Hat" just about verbatim.
Posted by: Marie | April 11, 2007 1:28 PM
