Bedtime Book Fetch
What you need
- their bedtime books, on a low shelf or in a box within reach
How to do it
- Once they're ready for bed, sit down in your usual reading place.
- Say, "Story time. Go and get the book you want."
- Wait where you are while they go to the shelf and choose.
- When they bring it back, name it, "Ah, the bear book", and read that one.
Why it matters
The bedtime book matters a lot at this age, and fetching it themselves turns a choice made from your lap into a request they carry over to you.
What they're learning
- Asking for a story
- Fetching the book is asking for it, with or without the words.
- Making a choice
- Looking along the shelf and pulling out the one they want.
- Fetching
- Going off on their own and coming back with what they went for.
What to look for
Watch for them going straight to the same book night after night, or holding it up to show you on the way back.
A tip
Keep the bedtime books on a low shelf, within reach without climbing. Read what they bring, even for the tenth night running: that's how a favourite becomes theirs.
Make it easier or harder
Easier: stand two books on the end of the bed, so the choice is small and the walk is short
Harder: ask for two, one to read now and one to save for tomorrow
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Quiet & calm activities · Activities for 18 month olds · Activities for 2 year olds · Toddler activities with a cardboard box