When should we read?
It's never too soon to begin reading with your child. If the Bookstart scheme operates in your area, your baby will be given a Bookstart bag at his or her 9-month check up. You'll find that even then - before they're walking or talking, your child can enjoy books.
But even if you don't have Bookstart Bags where you live, there is nothing to stop you joining your local library.
Bedtime is an ideal quiet time for snuggling up with your child to share a book.
When they are very little, it might just be a page, or a couple of pages - looking at the pictures, talking about what's happening. But as children grow older, their concentration span increases and they'll enjoy longer stories with beginnings, middles and endings. They'll join in with rhymes and finish off lines they know and love. You may have to read the same book again and again - but that's a sign of success.
You don't have to restrict storytime to bedtime.
Whether you're waiting for a bus, for a doctor's appointment or for Mum to come home - there are lots of opportunities for sharing books. Always take one with you, just in case.
Show your child that you enjoy reading too. Your example is important. It needn't only be books - it can be newspapers, maps, instructions, tickets or match programmes. Your enthusiasm is infectious.
Reading isn't only about books, of course. Involve your child in reading whenever you can.
"What number is that bus?"
"What's the name of the shop?"
"Which street are we in?"
"What letter should I look for in the phone directory?"
"Look, Clive, that shop begins with the same letter as your name."
On journeys, personal cassette players are a wonderful idea.
Everybody can listen to different stories, and swap once they're finished. Libraries have books on tape to borrow - and if you find a great favourite, you might buy it for a birthday or Christmas present.
Sometimes, reading particular stories together can help you explain things that are going on around your child.
Books aren't like sticking plaster - they can't solve problems. But they might help explain what's happening, and they might give your child the opportunity to ask questions about things that are worrying them. Perhaps they are worried about starting a new school. Maybe they are anxious about visiting the doctor. Often, when things go wrong in a family, people try to protect children by telling them nothing. Books may help answer some of their questions.
Ask at your local library for recommended titles. Explain the situation or problem - your librarian should be able to help.
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