Story time is a great bonding experience for children and their parents while also offering a long list of developmental benefits for your child. Parents often have the assumption that books are only for bedtime but story time doesn't always need to be at night time especially for toddlers with a limited attention span who can find sitting, listening and concentrating extremely difficult when they are tired.

Below are some helpful tips for families when they are trying to establish a story time routine....

Choose a time of the day when your child is attentive and really enjoys some affection and one-on-one time with you
Let your child choose the story they would like to read with you but make sure you have age appropriate books only to choose from. The key to this is finding books that are not too long for your child to lose interest in.
For young children start with board books, lift the flap books, pop up books and touch and feel books. These books are great for younger children as they are very engaging and can keep their hands busy while they are listening.
Read slowly... Yes trying to read really fast to get through the whole story while your child is still will not work... Try to engage your child by asking them to pint out characters and objects in the book, name colours and shapes.
Use different tones of voice to keep your child excited and listening and make sound effects! Your little one will never think you are too silly and will think it's lots of fun!
Lastly use toys and other story props to help build your child's attention span if they are not interested in flicking through the pages of a book yet. Sometimes when you sing the words it can also make the story seem a lot more interesting!