Let your child choose the page
If your child stops at a picture of a rabbit hugging someone, open your arms for a hug. If they stop at a truck, add one sound. If they stop at bubbles, make a bubble-scrubbing motion together. One short exchange on one page is enough.
The aim is not to pull attention back to every printed sentence. It is to help your child discover that something interesting can happen between the picture, their action, and your response.
Treat turning back as purposeful searching
If your child flips backward to find the rabbit again, say, “You're looking for the page with the hug. Let's find it.” When you reach it, repeat the action once.
Turning backward can begin to show that pages hold different events and that a favorite event can be found again. Page order is becoming useful for your child's own purpose, not simply a rule about reading correctly.
Connect one picture to real life
When a bear takes a bath, you might ask, “Do you have bubbles in your bath?” If your child rubs their hands together, describe the action. At this age, you do not need to explain the complete meaning of a story. A single picture connected to a familiar experience is already a usable piece of understanding.
Let shared reading itself be part of the motivation
Your child may first return to books because of your familiar voice, playful face, cuddle, or back-and-forth turn taking. That does not make the experience less like “real reading.” A warm, predictable shared experience gives your child a reason to keep exploring pictures, pages, and events.
What to notice
- Does your child bring or offer a book, or move close to you?
- Do they search for the same page again?
- Do they point, pat, touch, imitate, or make a sound in response to a picture?
- Do they repeat a book action during a similar real-life moment?
- When you pause, do they use an action or sound to ask for more?
Finishing a set number of pages is not the only useful observation. One especially meaningful moment is when your child actively looks for a page they enjoyed before.
Activities that use this approach
One activity follows a favorite hug picture and notices whether the child returns to it. Another makes opening, searching, and discovering part of reading through interactive pages. A third connects a bath-time picture to a familiar routine.
Keep in mind
- Do not score reading by page-turning speed, sitting time, or number of books finished.
- Skipping pages is fine, and you can still model sequence when your child is interested in finding what happened before.
- Interactive books can lower the barrier to participation, but they are not required for every child.
- A starting-state example in one activity does not describe every 18-month-old.
Better Parenting Content Team | Updated September 2, 2026