Aw, love that! What a cute story.

The cutest thing was a few days ago, we had a long exhausting day and I was like "I won't read books today ok? Let's sleep" and my 3 y.o. Replied with a big frown "but I cannot sleep without reading books mummy!" 'Twas adorable, read him a few stories right away !

This makes me giggle, Rosemary! I've had the same thing happen to me. When I was potty training my son I used to read to him to get him to sit down on the potty. That's probably where he got the idea!

Here's to book loving families!

Too funny. I was wondering during the tantrum, "Do all these people think I'm a bad mom who doesn't encourage reading?"

You are right, Mary. Children become readers at different ages. My oldest son was a very early reader, but my youngest is clearly going to be reading at a later age.

Early reading is nice, but not all children are set up to be early readers. For one thing, their eye muscles have to reach a certain stage of development. They need to be able to "sweep" with their eyes (read across a row, then sweep back to the beginning). In earlier stages their eyes fix on a spot, then fix on another spot, etc. This happens at different ages for different children, just like tooth eruption and growth spurts. Many children are not ready for formal reading instruction until they are seven. They may also have gifts in other directions: interest in nature, games, socializing, making things, building. So if you child isn't showing signs of early reading, don't worry. If they enjoy sitting with you and listening, that's great. Keep reading to them and sharing your enjoyment. pick book s about things they enjoy when you can.They are getting all the benefits of reading, especially if you enjoy discussing the book together. My son had an undiagnosed vision problem until he was in high school. Needless to say reading was not a comfortable task for him. I read to him and we read together for many years. My daughter and I are avid readers and love to talk about books. In high school his teachers all thought HE was an avid reader too because he talked and thought like a reader, had a great vocabulary and wide background knowledge. Although not a reader himself he had listened to so many stories and so many book chats in our home that he had accrued the benefits of being a reader. Now he is 26 and he loves reading. I wanted to post this because there are so many great stories here about children dedicated to books at a very young age, and I didn't want other parents to worry if their child is not exhibiting the same behaviors.