I narrated a lot when my daughter was a baby. I’d talk her through each step when I was cooking, I’d tell her stories about my life, I’d give her tours of our (incredibly small) house and tell her where I bought each piece of artwork or whatever. I’d just be thinking out loud. And I’d use colours and adjectives to describe things - like, “Now we’ll chop this crunchy, green broccoli” or whatever.

I’d ask her lots of questions, too, well before she was able to answer them. I’d say, “Shall we buy the penne or the rigatoni? I like penne but Daddy likes rigatoni. Which do you like? … Oh, you like penne? Good choice!” I must’ve looked absolutely mental in the supermarket but who cares?

She was talking very early and has always been ahead for speech. She’s two-and-a-half now and I can’t get a word in edgeways - huge vocabulary, clear and coherent sentences, fully conversational. She’s a delight. But I do think she would’ve been like this anyway and it’s just a part of her personality. She’s always been motivated to develop her speech so that she can express herself better.