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- let alone how he knew the right way to pronounce this word. If I hadn't known he was sure to be reading about dinosaurs, I would possibly have wondered whether the cretaceous period was before or after the Baroque period!

It's amazing how these dinosaur names just roll off his tongue like he's talking about something as simple as ice cream flavours or kids' cartoons. What's more, I can even pronounce them myself. When I find myself saying names like "ornithomimus" with ease these days I have to smile because I can remember when I first started reading him books about dinosaurs, tyrannosaurus rex was one of the few I actually knew how to pronounce.

One day last week my boy's waking thoughts must have been about the latest TV series he's crazy about - "Monster Warriors". The first thing he said to me wasn't "Good morning, Mummy?" or "Are you awake, Mummy?" No, that would be way too commonplace! I never know what funny question or comment I'm going to be woken with. This time it was, "Mummy, would you like to see a giant sea cucumber?" I rather groggily assured him I really had never thought about it!

Because my little boy is very advanced in his literary skills, as well as loving to vocalise all that he's learning, he is to do a talk at an upcoming school assembly at the grand old age of six - and still in kindergarten. Of course it goes without saying what the subject is! Mind you, I'm sure it's a subject that will be a hit with many other kids.

He plays dinosaur games in the playground at school and runs around roaring like a dinosaur. Recently when I took him to a park he was racing around playing his own version of "Primeval" - and couldn't understand why kids he'd never met before didn't seem to understand the concept.

One afternoon when he was brought home from school by the people who give him a regular lift, he startled the driver by roaring at her as he got out of the car. I'm sure she must have wondered what that was about, so I told him he must stop roaring at people like that. He couldn't understand why it would be offensive and said that the lady has her own kids who would do that. As the lady only has girls I told him I doubted they would go around roaring like dinosaurs. He argued that the family had watched "Primeval". I commented that it was one thing for them to watch that series but I still couldn't imagine two mild-mannered young girls roaring like dinosaurs at everyone.

For some time now he has been talking about being a paleontologist when he grows up - as well as a teacher and an actor! We have told him that maybe he could combine all three in some way. I somehow expect his ambitions will change in time - but there's no sign yet of his obsession with giant lizards moderating. We are trying to encourage him to see how he might apply such an interest in extinct creatures to a passion for saving other species from dying out. So maybe he'll become a wildlife warrior as this obsession evolves. I'd certainly prefer that he helped prevent some wildlife treasures such as pandas, tigers, polar bears, whales, Tasmanian devils and bilbies from vanishing forever through a time portal - rather than bringing fearsome beasts such as gorgonopsids, pteranodons, anurognathuses, giant parasites and giant spiders from the past back through "time anomalies" to the present. Eek!

Learn more about this author, Ruth Woodhouse.
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