Hey All ,

i am sudha mother of 7 months old baby boy .. i wanna know when do u all started to read book to ur babies , i havent start yet ! .. Im managing my baby alone in the states so sometimes i get angry easily i even scold my baby , i know its not good ( kinda mood swing) , im trying very hard to change the bad habit :).. Im not working so have lots of time to spend with the little master , i feel like im wasting the whole day without dng anything ( my daily chores are cooking , cleaning the house ( live in an apartment) , surfing and watch movie .. I really need to change myself , need a friend feel so bored im just 24 , feel like doing some courses related to babies , is there any suggestion abt that ..., and what book shud i read to the baby , i try to read one book to my baby today but he's not listening to me , he move here and there , is this common ... pls advice what can i do to develop his brain at this stage ...

Thanks Connie replied. I am an avid reader myself and reading books was the only thing I could do in the nights during pregnancy when I could not sleep due to physical discomfort. At times I would read aloud thinking the baby might listen to it but am not sure if and how that helped. Now my boy is 9 months old. He likes books but only to look at and to tear the pages. I give him old glossy magazines to play around with. I tried reading out from the pages but like your boy, this guy is also an active chap and does not like to sit and listen for long. He prefers to tear off the pages which is okay with old usuable mags.
Now coming to your frustration, it is only natural.I am a working mother but I too at times feel frustrated especially after a tiring day at office, when instead of simply dozing off ( which I could do earlier) I had to take care of the little one.So it is normal because we are humans. Only try to control yourself so that your agitation does not show up in front of the baby. I try to keep my cool because if I do not then he will not learn to keep himself cool later in life.
You have every right to have a life of your own and there is nothing to feel bad about it. Try net surfing, reading books yourself when free, exercising to shed those extra flabs off,listen to music, dance with the baby in your arms, chat on internet and you will feel much better. And if time permits try for some on line course which you can later use for job search, once the baby is older. REalms replied. Scientifically speaking the docs claim you can read books to babies as early as they are in the womb. That being said, it aint easy reading a book to a kid who is hyper active like mine. So we took it easy...and around 1 year time he himself started asking for books. Always get books with lots of colour and pics, kids like those books.

Also about scolding your kid, well everybody goes through those motions, in your case you are with him 24/7 so it is only natural...When you feel absolutely frustrated leave him in his crib alone and take five minutes off. It does matter if he is crying, atleast you would be in a better position to handle him after the break.