I think we’ve established that I regularly steal my nine-year-olds’s books, with or without her permission. This Christmas marked the first time she stole one of mine.

I was reading Nurture Shock, a gift from my friend Carl. It’s a fascinating book all about misconceptions in child development and psychology. I read a few bits aloud to Min, with my daughter in the room. Soon she was reading over my shoulder. Then she asked if she could have it when I was done.

“It’s a bit of a hard read,” I said.

“Mommy, look,” she said, holding up her own book. “It’s only a font size or two different from mine.”

I wasn’t sure whether to explain that font size isn’t the only indicator of reading difficulty, or whether to be impressed that she knew what font size was. Plus, I’d just read all about the damage which could be done by praising kids for intelligence instead of effort, and I got confused.

In the end, I gave her the book. I’m hoping once she’s absorbed the details, she can help me with my parenting techniques.