When do kids stop tearing up books?

My children never ripped books, but one boy that I babysit does. I keep all the books in crates and we only get them out when I am there to read to him. He asks for them when he is playing on his own and I tell him that he can't have them until he can learn not to tear them. Every once in a while I will get a book out and pretend to not be watching what he is doing. If he looks like he is going to tear it, I take it away and tell him he can't have books because it isn't nice to tear them. I think that this is a long process. I would just make sure the books are somewhere he can't get to them until he is a bit older.

I think for kid 2 year old, they don't understand what use a book, so why you give a book for your kid ? I understand why you give a book for your kid. Best regards

Augh, my kid still rips up books, well not as much as she use to but she still does it. so I try to not buy any books that have fun pop ups or tags they can pull. All those books are way up high and out of reach. If they do pull on those books and tear the pages then I just throw them out. It is better to not have it in the house. I am all into keeping things simple. If it is a book that i had as a kid I make sure to keep it out of reach like if it has some pages that are torn and they want to keep tearing at it....it is hard to do, but even with those sentimental things if it gets further destroyed I have no choice but to throw it out so that the urge is no longer there for the child. It is kind of like dealing with a puppy, to train a puppy to not chew on furniture you replace a toy in its mouth instead to distract the puppy from chewing up your furniture....well sadly the same goes for kids, if you take away the thing that will start the bad behavior then the bad behavior will never occur or will occur very minimally!! Anyway, I hope that helps somewhat....Love the avatar you have is that one of your babies? Sandra

My son stopped ripping books when he turned 2 years old. I read the story with him and taught him how to enjoy the pictures in the book, maybe that made him appreciate the book more.

My daughter has a library in her room. She has books after books that we collected ever since I was pregnant with her. From day one, I would read to her. By the time she was a year old she would take books off her bedroom shelf and sometimes she would try to eat them or rip them, but I would just tell her "no" and then put the book up in a higher spot and would only take the books out when I could actually sit with her and watch her with them. I spent lots of money on all her books and I don't want them messed up. She eventually stopped tearing books and by the time she was 3, I put all her books back in her reach and she doesn't rip them anymore. She reads them and then puts them back on her shelf. Maybe you should just give him a couple books at a time and just watch him and see what he does, and when you see him about to rip a book, just take it away and say "no, not nice to mess your books up" or something like that. He will catch on in time. He is still young. He is a toddler and that is what they do best. :)

erm.. the only thing you can do is to stop him from getting near to the books.. i think they do understand at times.. but.. we all are well informed that 2 years old and below.. they're very playful. .eventhough you talk serious to them.. they actually don't really understand what you're trying to tell them.. or worse still, they don't understand how serious is the matter.. that's why they keep repeating the same mistake....... do have your patience.. and never beat them or scold them harshly..you can always tap them a little if they're naughty.. like the old saying "spare the rod and spoil the child" :)

I haven't the slightest idea. My 4 1/2 and 5 1/2 year olds still tear up books and chew up all their toys. They aren't as bad as when they were toddlers but they still do it. My 6 1/2 year old quit tearing the books up when she was 3, I think.

My daughter was also a tearer (and a terror lol) and I couldn't get her to stop doing it and I ended up not allowing her to play with books without me reading them to her. She's three now and she has pretty much stopped ripping up books intentionally. BUT, now she's moved on to coloring on every page. Arggg!!!

i have no idea. may be of 2 years

i think a child stops tearing books when he starts loving them..:) my sisters daughter is 11 months old now and has started walking. initially she used to tore a few books but now handles them very carefully and looks at the pictures as if she is understanding them and loves her books.

It sounds like your DS is just trying to explore the book more. They don't understand that it's made that way and can't be physically played with like a toy. My DS is 16 months old and loves his books. I let him look at board books in his crib and he'll bend the covers back and stuff, but I think some of that is when he sits or stands on them and they're not closed right. I have some regular books that he's allowed to read when we're in the room, as well as good books and library books that we read together. I agree that he usually only rips pages when he's trying to turn them, not really on purpose. I do my best to tape them up, but I also realize that he'll be hard on them for a few years. I'd expect the difficulty to last until he's 3 or 4. Good luck, and remember how much he's learning by having those books around. :)

Hmmm I never did that as a kid,lol.I think they do it out of curiosity and once they learn to read and understand the pictures a little perhaps they would rather marvel at the alphabets and photos than tear them up.So,he should stop tearing them by his third year.I think you could show him few books with beautiful photos and get him interested in books.That way, there is a better chance of him stopping earlier and paying closer attention to the books.

Please tell me because my almost 2 year old son loves to tear up books and not even interested in reading them.

When you find out the answer let me know. LOL!!! I have three kids total, but my two youngest (ages 3 and 4) still tear up there books. Lucky for me I only spend about 25 cents a piece for thier books from the library. So if they do tear them up, I am not out a whole lot of money.

My son stopped doing that after he turned 3. He is actually turning the pages nicely and only rarely does he tear up a page and when he does it it's by mistake, not on purpose. Then he asks me to tape it back up. LOL. Your son will soon learn not to tear them up but everytime he does it remind him that that is not what we do with books and show him the right way to hold a book.

All children have a capacity for mischief, and naughtiness is a perfectly normal way of exploring the limits of acceptable conduct.For example children aged under 2 years do not understand what is wrong and what is right,they will stop ripping up book before they reach 3 years old,

We've got a 10 year old and he went from ripping them to not takeing care of them and they get ruined. So it's no going to inprove none.

That is up your baby`s mind. Your children is so lovely.