The child who turns pages, chooses a picture and interrupts with a question is actively participating in a shared book. Allowing some control can make story time more enjoyable, especially for babies and young children, without implying that adults should abandon every reading routine.
Let their attention guide the pace
Stay on a picture that fascinates the child instead of rushing to finish a sentence. Describe the object or action they notice. You can always return to the written story another time, and the conversation may be the most worthwhile part of today’s reading.
Offer a real choice
Place two suitable books nearby and let the child select one. The choice should be genuine: avoid offering a book only to replace it with the adult’s preferred title. Choosing can create a sense of ownership without needing a large library.
Treat interruptions as contributions
A question about an animal or a memory of seeing a similar vehicle is relevant to the child’s experience. Answer briefly, then decide together whether to return to the page. Story time is a conversation, not a performance that must never be interrupted.
Know when to provide structure
Sometimes a child benefits from knowing there will be one bedtime book before sleep. Set those limits clearly but allow control within them, such as choosing the title or turning the pages. Flexibility and predictability can work together.
For beginning independent readers
If a child is practising a decodable book, let them point to and track the text while following the teacher’s approach. Changing pages randomly may interrupt that specific task. Explain the difference between phonics practice and a relaxed picture-book session.
End on a positive note
If a young child closes the book after three pages, consider the shared experience complete for now. Another reading opportunity will come. Their willingness to bring a book back is more useful than a record of how many pages an adult managed to finish.
A real-life example
A toddler and an adult sit together with a picture book about city traffic. The adult starts to read the first sentence, but the child points at a yellow bus on a later page and tries to reach it. The adult lets the child turn the pages and talks about the bus. Perhaps they make a bus noise or recall the real bus seen earlier that day. If the child turns back to the front, the adult follows. They may never reach the story’s final page, yet the encounter includes shared attention, naming, memory and enjoyment. A bedtime routine can still have a beginning and end: “One book, then lights out.” Within that boundary the child can choose which book and when to turn the page. With a child learning to decode, the situation changes. A short school reading task may need more structure so the child can practise letters in sequence. Explain this distinction instead of applying the same rule to every book. A free-choice picture book and a decodable practice book have different goals, and children may enjoy both when adults respect those differences.
What to avoid
Giving children control does not mean allowing unsafe handling, endless delay of bedtime or distress when a routine must end. It also does not mean avoiding explicit reading instruction when that is needed. The practical question is which choices help the child participate in this particular book-sharing moment without undermining its purpose.
Giving genuine choices while keeping useful limits
Some choices are particularly easy to offer: which of two books to read, who should hold it, where to sit or which page to look at first. A child may appreciate these decisions because their preference changes the experience. If an adult asks them to choose and then ignores the answer, the choice becomes frustrating rather than empowering. It is better to offer a smaller genuine decision than an unlimited choice that cannot be honoured. During a relaxed picture-book session, the child might repeatedly turn to one favourite illustration. The adult can comment on it, let the child describe it and return to the printed story only when interest shifts. For a very young child this can be the whole interaction. The point is to encourage engagement, not finish the maximum number of pages. Adults can still protect safety, manage a bedtime routine and decide when story time must end. Choices work within those ordinary responsibilities rather than replacing them.
A child beginning independent reading may need a different type of structure. If a teacher has provided a short decodable book to practise particular spellings, reading its words in order is part of the task. Explain that this is a practice book and that the child can choose a separate story for pleasure afterwards. The child might still decide whether to sit on the sofa or at the table, and where to place a bookmark. When school practice is complete, open the picture book and allow much more freedom to interrupt, point and invent. Clear expectations prevent a child from feeling corrected one minute for skipping lines and encouraged the next without explanation. The adult’s aim is not to control every interaction but to match the amount of structure to the purpose of that reading moment. The child should understand when they are exploring a story and when they are practising a particular skill.
Questions parents and carers often ask
Should I stop the child skipping pages?
During relaxed picture-book time, skipping pages may be part of exploration. In an independent decoding exercise, the order may matter for practising the planned words. Explain the different purposes calmly.
What if they only want to look at one illustration?
Stay with the picture and talk about what interests them. You do not need to invent a question for every object. The child may return to the story later when their attention changes.
Will giving choices spoil a routine?
Not necessarily. A clear boundary such as choosing one of two books can coexist with a fixed bedtime. Genuine small decisions can make a routine feel collaborative without removing adult responsibility.