Jacqueline Wilson on reading to babies
Children's author Jacqueline Wilson on how books stopped her baby crying
Reading aloud to a child is a wonderful pastime, but did you realise it’s also valuable for babies? I had my daughter when I was little more than a child myself and it was very scary knowing I was totally responsible for her. My husband was at work all day and most of the night, my mum worked full-time and none of my friends had kids, so I was on my own. And my lovely Emma just yelled her head off.
I spent a lot of time crying too. My health visitor told me I wasn’t washing Emma’s nappies properly and that I wasn’t staying calm and sending out the right ‘vibrations’.I cried some more, bought new washing powder and tried hard to vibrate in a calm manner. Emma cried harder.
Baby fun
I ‘read’ Emma her first book by chance. She was whimpering on my lap while I wearily flipped through a catalogue, and her little fist thumped the page as if she was pointing.
“Yes, baby!” I said brightly. Emma stopped grizzling. “Big, smiley baby, Let’s wave to him.” I waggled her hand and she laughed. We turned the pages and found big babies, little babies, babies in prams, babies in nappies and babies in snowsuits. Emma smiled. We’d cracked it!
I had hardly any money but I saved a little to buy us several baby books (I’d have been thrilled with the Bookstart scheme where new babies get given free picture books!).
I also made Emma her own book — a big scrapbook with pictures of things she liked; babies, her bottle, a banana, her squeezy toy, her teddy and the ducks on the pond. I wrote the words so that she’d associate them with the pictures.
It was wonderful when we got on to stories. A favourite was Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. Emma wasn’t a bit scared — we roared our terrible roars and showed our terrible claws, and danced a Wild Rumpus. She loved The Tiger Who Came to Tea, especially when the tiger drinks Daddy’s beer. We adored all five Little Bear books and chanted them by heart.
I think it’s so sad that many parents now feel too tired or too busy to read to their children — it creates a loving bond that lasts forever. If they won’t sit still, let them caper around the room or crayon a picture while you read. Let’s all start by reading aloud to our babies and get them hooked on books for life!
Dame Jacqueline Wilson was the Children’s Laureate 2005-7. For details on Bookstart, visit www.bookstart.co.uk. For help with adult literacy, visit www.learndirect.co.uk
What YOU think
"I’ve read to my baby since he was a few months old. He loves listening to me doing different voices, actions and songs, and he tries to turn the pages! My six year old is brilliant at reading but still loves us to read to him." Sonia, mum of Louis, 6, and Frankie, 13 mths
"It is very important to read to your children as it helps with language and gives you the opportunity to bond. I read to my son every evening — an easy way to achieve this is to use sing-along tapes with the books, or stories on tape. I find it also calms the child for a night’s rest." Felicia, mum of Damilola Daniel, 4
"Each week my children and I go to the library bus in our village, which they really look forward to. As a child I was not read to much, therefore I wanted to change this with my children." Carrie, mum of Owen, 6, and Sophie, 3
"I use large, colourful picture books and ask my son to point out where the car is. I also pull props out of a bag — he loves that!" Sarah, mum of Paul, 21 mths
Do you have an opinion on reading to babies? If so, contact us — we’d love to hear from you.
“My 15-month-old daughter is called Poppy and we love the 'Poppy Cat' books. She shrieks and claps at the bits she likes.”
Hannah, mum of Poppy, 15 months
Print this article >
Save this article >
Send this article >
Facebook >
