How to Save a Board Book's Binding

My boys were always fairly gentle with books, but my daughter (now 21 months old) is brutal to the binding of board books. She loves to just tear it to pieces. But, she loves to read books, and it's often her favorite books that suffer the most. So, in an attempt to save her books (and a little money in replacing them), I found a fairly effective way to save the board book bindings! It's not the prettiest, but it holds the book together, and allows you to turn the pages and keep the book flat when it's closed:

First, rescue the poor book from your toddler!

Then, take a piece of paperboard (like a cereal box) and cut it ever-so-slightly narrower than the binding of your book.

It needs to sit just inside the front and back covers of the book so the pages will still turn.

Write the name of the book on the paperboard, and use packing tape to tape it securely to the book.

You will want to make sure to supervise your toddler when they have this book so they don't try to eat the tape, but so far, this book has held up well to my daughter's lack of gentle-ness.  It's not perfect, but I couldn't bear to part with this book (or several others she has mutilated!), so it works for us!

I’ll be linking up to Making Your Home Sing Sunday, Mama Moments Monday,  Mom’s Library, Clever Chicks Blog Hop, The Mommy Club.