Mums group on Thursday. One of the girls told a story that went something like this... "So I was reading a book to A last night before bed and all she wanted to do was eat the damn book so I said "Right that's it! No book! Bed!". And it has been eating away at me since. I should have said something at the time, but instead, I'm saying it here. If I could turn back time, this is what I would have said... "Yeah, but at this age - eating the book IS like reading the book to her. At this stage in her development, it's about SO many other things than 'just reading the book'. It's about A listening to the sound of your voice, the different tone and pitch, the rhyme and rhythm, it's about touching the book, feeling (with hands and mouth) the texture - I'm sure it feels different to many of her other toys. It's about her watching you enjoy reading to her, it's about holding her close and having a cuddle at the same time. It's about shapes and colours and visual stimulation. And it's about repetition. I have been reading the same books to Ruby over and over again since she was born. One in particular, Owl Babies, is her favourite, possibly because I have been reading it to her since birth. Children love repetition, it makes them feel secure and able to predict what comes next. So tomorrow night. Let her chew the book. Not till the pages are soggy, but just enough to let her engage all of her senses in the book".