Élodie was putting a new picture book on the shelf for Louise, her five-year-old daughter. She had chosen a funny story about a fox who kept losing things. The kind of book they would enjoy reading together.
Louise asked if they could open it now. Élodie looked at the saucepan, the wet laundry in the machine and the approaching bath time. She said they would read it at bedtime.
At bedtime, Louise was tired. So was Élodie. They talked for a little while, then turned off the light. The fox still had not lost anything.
Reading with your child also needs an available moment
Élodie knew this little sequence well: spotting a book, bringing it home, imagining how much pleasure it would bring. Choosing a book could fit into a journey or an online order. Sitting down to read it required time and attention that buying it did not create.
The shelf was full of good intentions, and the choice of stories was not what stopped them opening one. In their day, reading came after everything else, precisely when neither of them had much energy left.
Élodie almost searched for a list of shorter picture books. Then she recognised several small books already on their shelf. She did not necessarily need a better selection. She needed to see where a book could actually fit.
That did not mean magically finding time. Some evenings, the necessary things took up all the room. Adding “read more” to the list would mainly have added another unfinished task.
A book within reach, not another programme
The next day, Élodie put the picture book near the sofa. After their afternoon snack, she sat down with Louise before starting the washing machine. They read a few pages, then Louise wanted to spend a long time looking at an illustration. The fox had found his sock in a saucepan.
Élodie did not try to finish so that the reading would count. They could start again on that page another time.
On days when there is a little room, we can try a moment we already share, rather than reserving books for a bedtime that is often busy. Keeping a picture book within reach also avoids starting by choosing between twenty covers.
“We can look at a few pages now, before your bath.”
“Tonight, I don't have the energy for the whole story. Would you like us to look at this picture together?”
If the child would rather play, there is no need to defend the slot as a compulsory appointment. And if the parent is not available, the book can wait without becoming proof that they are getting things wrong.
That day, Élodie started the washing machine a little later. On the sofa, the book was still open at the saucepan page. They knew where to find the fox.
