I am a DisneyLife Brand Ambassador and this post was created in partnership with DisneyLife who have provided me with a free 12-month DisneyLife membership. AD
I love a ‘happily ever after’. Mae, less so. At the moment she has the attention span of a gnat; she’s able to get through approximately three pages of any story before declaring a need to play ‘Mama horsey’ (a shame-drenched game where I adopt an equine persona and cart her around the place; I won’t lie, it is fun after a day of tax returns).
So we’ve had to dangle a carrot to get her to story finish-line lately. I want her to get used to seeing a project through to the end so I’ve downloaded the DisneyLife app to bring her favourite characters to life – in a sense to use Toy Story as the carrot. It’s simple, all your kid’s favourite characters have their own reading matter on this app. Elsa from Frozen? You’ve got it. The story of Belle (from Beauty and the Beast)’s Tea Party? That’s a can’t-put-it-down-read right there.
While I’d love to say I allowed Mae to choose the reading matter, I went straight for Buzz’s (of Lightyear acclaim) Space Adventure. Quite simply, what’s not to love? And, to be honest, I still delight in Disney and refuse to accept it’s aimed solely at kids. Big reveal: I was given Bullseye (from Toy Story) for my 31st birthday by my own Dad.
And Buzz’s intriguing story didn’t disappoint: on page one, it reads, ‘One night, the peas-in-a-pod couldn’t sleep. They asked Buzz Lightyear to tell them a story about space rangers.’ There’s just so much in once sentence that made me want to read on, I hadn’t even noticed the heavy breathing from Squidge. (The heavy breathing only happens when she really wants to know what’s going on.)
If you don’t believe me (and I am so tired, I can barely trust myself to cross the road at the moment), then just try is out for a month – for free. This isn’t just a kiddie app that gets banished to the toy graveyard once that attention span wanes. DisneyLife has numerous reading levels that enable your kid to be challenged, intrigued and ultimately eyes on the reading prize as they grow.
On a mildly sentimental note, you can also just listen to these stories instead of reading them, which gives ample opportunity to cash in one of those ever-elusive toddler hugs. Last night Mae fell asleep in my arms to the nail-biting adventures of Buzz, Woody and those little peas unable to sleep in their pod.
She might not have quite made it to ‘Happily ever after’ (there was a steady row of z’s around page 10) but the attention span definitely went beyond ‘gnat’.
Plus ‘Mama horsey’ had a much-needed night off. Treats, indeed.
I am a DisneyLife Brand Ambassador and this post was created in partnership with DisneyLife who have provided me with a free 12-month DisneyLife membership. AD
