Why it is never too early to establish a reading habit, even without words

Many parents naturally associate the beginning of "reading" with the moment a child starts to understand the meaning of a story or even recognize their first letters, thereby pushing the idea of establishing a true reading habit to a later age, usually around two or three years old.

This conception, while understandable, overlooks the fact that any habit is always built through the regular repetition of a behavior associated with a stable context, regardless of the conscious understanding the child may have of it at a given moment.

From the very first months of life, a baby is perfectly capable of participating in a regular ritual centered around a book, not by understanding a story, but by exploring the pages sensorially, manipulating interactive elements, or simply enjoying the reassuring presence of a parent during this shared moment.

The felt book is particularly well-suited to this early establishment of a ritual, precisely because it requires no narrative comprehension to be enjoyed. Its sensory and manipulative richness offers genuine interest to a baby, long before the narrative dimension of a book becomes relevant to them.

Waiting for a child to fully understand a story before starting to establish a reading habit is, in a way, unnecessarily delaying the construction of a positive association between books and pleasure—an association that benefits from being established as early as possible in a child's life.

Research on language development and early literacy confirms the value of regular exposure to books from the first months of life, well before the child can understand the meaning of the words spoken or the stories told; this early exposure effectively prepares for later learning.

It is this broader understanding of what "reading" can mean for a baby, far beyond simple text comprehension, that fully justifies establishing a reading habit from the very first months, by relying on a medium like the felt book, which is perfectly adapted to this early stage of development.