This baby whisperer hasn’t written any books…he cannot yet read books. He is four years old and attends kinder. He is good at puzzles and eating and he appears to know what my baby is communicating. Yes, my preschool son is a baby whisperer.

I didn’t notice at first, probably because my son has a talent for non-stop chatter and not all of it makes sense. As a consequence, my ears have adapted to perform the task of turning this incessant string of syllables into white noise, to reduce the risk of brain meltdown. Hence, I am not always aware of what he is trying to tell me.

‘I think he wants more milk mum.’

Initially I reacted as any breastfeeding-around-the-clock mother would to the suggestion that the baby wants more. ‘NO HE DOESN’T!’ An over reaction, perhaps. ‘He can’t want more, I only fed him an hour ago. Why does that have to be the answer every time he cries?!’

‘I think he’s tired mum.’

‘But he hasn’t yawned yet.’

‘He’s got a pain in his tummy mum.’

‘But I’ve burped him already.’

The cheek! My four year old telling me what the baby wants and needs! I am the mother of the baby and therefore I instinctively know what to do with it, don’t I? What does he think he’s playing at?

I ignored his suggestions to start with – my pride insisted so. But desperation gradually lowered my guard and I began to listen to him. He says he’s hungry? Fine, I’ll offer him my breast. He has a pain? Alright, I’ll do some more patting and rubbing. And on nearly every occasion my preschooler has been right, his suggestions resulting in a happier baby and more peaceful house.

How does he know? How does he do it? Is it luck? Guess work? Are my boys able to communicate in a way that is not available to me? Whatever the explanation, I’m pretty impressed and stoked. I briefly considered contacting Today Tonight, or maybe even A Current Affair to share my baby whispering child with the world, but decided against it. After all, I don’t want him to know that he is a better mummy to his brother than I am. My pride wouldn’t cope.