Q: My 9-month-old is so active that he doesn’t want to stop to read a book. This worries me because I know how important reading is.  What can I do to get him interested?

A: Build book-reading and language into your child’s everyday life.  Include a story, rhyme, or song as part of your child’s bedtime routine. Use books to help your child move between activities (e.g., a book about naps before naptime, or a book about baths before bath time). Make up rhymes or sing songs while playing with your child or driving in the car. This helps build a love of words and sounds.  Look for words to read all around you—on signs, on trucks, on food boxes and labels.  Finally, leave books where your child can reach them and let him explore them in any way he likes—even if it is only for a few seconds at a time. Don’t force him to sit or read for longer than he wants. This can lead to his having negative feelings about books.