Parent to Parent: Repeat Reading

WSVN -- Does your nightly reading session feel like groundhog day? Same book over and over and over again.

Michael Pardo: "Five to seven days a week it's the same book over and over again."

Bedtime at the Pardo house means 5-year-old Isabela wants to read one book and one book only "Disney Princess."

Michael Pardo: "I'm totally burned out reading that same book over and over again, but she didn't get tired of it, and I would say, 'Hey, let's read this book, let's read that book.' She would have none of it."

In fact, Isabela knows the next line of the book before dad even reads it. Seven's Parenting Expert Dr. Valerie Goode says a lot of kids do it. For them, it's like having a favorite doll or blanket.

Dr. Valerie Goode: "It makes them feel comfortable. It makes them feel loved. They know it. It feels familiar. They know the smell. They know everything about this book."

Dr. Valerie says it's normal for children to become attached to one book. You should make it part of their bedtime routine and realize the repetition is actually doing good things.

Dr. Valerie Goode: "It builds confidence, it builds fluency because the children learning how to read can read it fluently as opposed to one word at a time, which is very difficult for the kids at first."

She says despite how tedious it is for you, go with it. Don't force your child to choose a different book. Just remember the routine is important to them.

Isabela Pardo: "I go take a bath, then I brush my teeth, and then I hear a story, and then I go to bed."

Isabela is still going strong. Two months of the "Disney Princess" and counting but now, at least her parents know it's helping to boost her love of reading, and they're hoping for a fairy-tale ending.

Michael Pardo: "If you read or listen to the same thing over and over and get that comfortable with it that you memorize it, then you probably feel accomplished."

Lynn Martinez: "Repeat reading like this actually does other good things. Hearing you read actually teaches the child to read out loud smoothly and with expression. So don't get flustered."

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