I passed the television in the morning last week.  And try as I might I cannot find a record of the program, though I think it was ABC.

I was drawn to stop and watch an interview with a representative of the Children’s Book Council of Australia regarding Book Week – she spoke well.

The host of the program began the final part of the segment commenting on an author he and his children liked.  His female counterpart remarked that there was not much children’s reading happening in her household because her child was only 7 months.

Oh dear.

How sad.

Why?

I wonder when she will start sharing books and stories with the child?

At 2 months they can listen and look at books.

There are plastic books for the bath.

There are board books that will stand being chewed and taken to bed and dragged around the house.

There are any number of opportunities to share the sound of the beautiful rhymes and rhythms of stories and poems and books.

Beautiful bonding happens over books way before 7 months.

Children learn to look at pictures as reading cues way before 7 months.

They learn the rhythm of turning pages and the anticipation of what comes next – way before 7 months.

They hear rhyme and rhythm way before 7 months.

They hear a parent’s love of reading, appreciation of the story, love of the humour way before 7 months.

Does she talk to her child, I wonder, or is she waiting till the child can talk back?

So sad!

But thank you for the reminder of just what a beautiful, joyful, deep connection and person-raising opportunity there is in reading to little babies.