Reading to your children.

I read to my daughter from the day I took her home from hospital. She was born prematurely at 32 weeks, and we were told that she could be behind in her development. I had always known that it was important to read to children to help with language and bonding.

She came home from the hospital at four weeks old. I had baby books, and I read to her every day while she lay in her crib. When she was three months old we moved into a new flat and I got her a library card. She weighed seven pounds at the time and was still very small and I can still remember the strange looks they gave me.

I loved picking out rhyming books, and would make all the animal noises. I would make sure I was alone though! I would take out twelve books every three weeks and I would read them to her every day. I think I enjoyed it more than she did.

When she learned to crawl I would keep the pile of books on the coffee table so she could pick them up whenever she wanted. If I sat down she would automatically bring a book and climb on my lap for me to read. When it was finished she would get another, then another and so on, until I had read them all. This routine could happen several times a day.

By the time she was two and a half she would memorise her favourite books and read them to her imaginary friends.

She was behind in a lot of things. She didn`t walk until she was two and struggled with fine motor skills, but she has always been at least a year ahead in reading, literacy and mathematics. She was reading Harry Potter books when she was six and I love to see the excitement on her face when she receives a new book that she loves. It reminds me of my childhood when I loved books so much I would take them to bed with me and cuddle them. I was a strange child!