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It’s difficult for a mother of a two-year-old to sit down and get engaged in reading books for a few hours. Either it’s not impossible too.

We know books as one’s best friend. I used to read a lot before my marriage, but hardly got enough time to focus on reading after that. And forget during pregnancy as we mothers are so busy taking care of our baby.

But now, my little one is 22 months old. I have introduced her books so she can get used to them. I have made her read “The Goodnight moon” book before making her sleep. When she was 6 months old, I introduced her “feel and touch books” to feel the texture which she enjoys now too. She likes to flip pages, she recognizes a few pictures. She knows “numbers and color” by now, and many more. 

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Mommies, it’s really difficult to be with the toddler all day. We need to give a little time to ourselves too, at least one hour a day. So, I realized books make me feel relaxed. I am still making it my stress buster by exploring more books.

Definitely, the first step is to decide. Yes! Reading makes you feel happy and relaxed. You feel rejuvenated as it takes away all the worries. 

Let me ask you!

Are you a bookworm, bookaholic, or trying to become one?

Do you like the smell of books? Do you like to grab a cup of coffee while reading a book? When did you do this last time? 

Still, thinking?

Still?

Come on, Mummies! Let’s start…

Let’s start by reading a book for 10-15 minutes every day.

Here are a few tips on how I manage reading books with my 2 years old toddler.

1.Find the book of your interest

First, you need to find out which genres of books you enjoy reading.

•  Is it nonfiction? Fiction? Poetry? 

 They have many subs-genre like non-fiction, self-help, memoir, biography, etc.

Under fiction, the sub-genre is like romance, thriller, children’s fiction, fantasy, and mystery, etc. 

Or

• Do you enjoy reading books in different languages like Hindi, English, Bengali, Marathi, and Gujrati, etc?

Or

• Do you enjoy reading paperbacks or ebooks? Nowadays, audiobooks are also in trend.

It’ll become a little easier for you to choose the book first If you’re able to answer all these questions.

2. Using temporary breaks

This means the work is a never-ending process. We have to remind our subconscious mind that we need to keep some time aside for us. We waste our time checking notifications, browsing the internet, chatting with people over social media, traveling and gossiping over the phone, etc.

So, we can use these short times for reading. 

I am not asking you not to check notifications. Yes! They’re important too. But keep a fixed time for this and try to build the habit of reading in temporary breaks.

If you repeat the process for a few days, you’ll realize eventually how much time we waste in between. The best way is to keep the book with you.

3. Managing your time effectively

Managing your time is important if you’re serious about reading. Maybe you can take it out sometimes just after waking up, or before sleeping, or might be in the afternoon, while cooking? But if you’re starting with this, you need to spend some time in silence to read the book to maintain the focus.

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4. Don’t pressurize yourself too much 

It’s okay! If you’re not able to read a book for one day. The habit is eventually cultivated with time. Make sure that you’re enjoying what you’re reading. It should be for your relaxation, not just for the sake of reading and finishing the book.

5. Build up connections

It’s always a wise idea to join a few book clubs, which helps readers to stay focused. Many people are coming up with such ideas and making this functional. They organize weekly meetups online in which you can take part. You can join a few Facebook book club groups. You can start your reading group too by asking your friends to join in. Try to connect with readers, ask for suggestions.

6. Be excited

Be happy to read the book. You’re giving your energy and time to the book reading. If you’re liking what you’re reading, then you’ll not get bored with it. It will excite them to know more about what's next. Like it happens in fiction books, how the suspense creates at the end of each chapter. The book story keeps us hooked, anyway.

You should make a ‘TO-BE-READ’ list in which you’ll be mentioning the books you want to read. Make a short goal to finish the book and then start with a new one. You can follow Goodreads for your reading challenge for the year.

Mummies, please understand, the household chores, work-life balance will never end. But giving sometimes which you enjoy the most will give you the energy to move forward. 

It takes time to cultivate a habit. You must do it continuously for a minimum of 21 days and then slowly, you can increase the time as per your convenience. 

Please remember, it’s never too late to start with anything, but what it requires is “Just a small step NOW”.

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2. Fiction for beginners

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