Feed your baby books, it's good for his health

"What's the point of buying books for a baby? They don't understand what's being read to them!" Many parents think to themselves exactly what we just wrote out loud… And at Good Goût, we decided we couldn't let this misconception continue any longer. So we put on our glasses and went to meet a dad and blogger passionate about children's literature who has more than one trick up his sleeve to make even the youngest children love to devour books!

A passionate fan of children's literature, Gabriel is the editor-in-chief of the blog La Mare aux mots and the father of two little girls. Through his blog, he and his team of enthusiasts introduce us to authors. He helped us find some great ideas for introducing our babies to reading from a very young age.

The importance of reading from a very young age

“Reading sparks curiosity, helps develop imagination, open-mindedness and critical thinking. For example, a child who reads (or is read to) a story that takes place in a faraway country will have no trouble imagining life there…” explains the dad-reader.

Good habits to adopt:

• Place books in children's visual environment.
• Teaching children to handle a book with respect, without stepping on it, without tearing it...
• Reading during dinner (or any other seemingly inappropriate time like bath time) is actually an excellent way to introduce them to this new activity in a fun way. There's nothing like a book with vegetables to help get your baby to eat a little something :-)
• Taking them to the library: it's a great way to discover new titles, authors, and amazing book formats... And besides, if we had to buy every existing children's book, we'd lose both our arms!

A selection of best-selling books to add to your baby registry

Against all expectations, Gabriel confided in us: "The key to choosing a good book for your child is to enjoy it yourself first." Here are a few of his favorites:

• Bedtime for the Animals by Frédérique Loew: a soft, touchable fabric book, perfect for little hands. The illustrations are in black and white, very effective because contrasts are often better perceived by babies than colors.
• The "My Little Sound Picture Books" collection is very popular because children can very easily and quickly press the buttons.
• The stories of Emilie (the little girl in red by Domitille de Pressensé) will be very popular, thanks, once again, to strong contrasts and simple drawings.
• Sejung Kim's Animals of the World is a book made from organic fabric in partnership with UNICEF: perfect for babies who put everything in their mouths!

Little tips for reading a book to a baby (under 3 years old)

Because we don't want to put him off reading! ;-)

Babies love to switch between books very quickly and can turn pages very fast. Adapt to their pace and their current interests...

Do not force the child if he/she does not want to.

Don't choose a text that's too long; the text isn't essential. From the age of two, picture books are very useful; children love spending a lot of time looking at the pages where only characters, objects, and shapes "wander" without necessarily any background.

The chef's surprise: Jeanne Ashbé, the book, and toddlers

We wanted to share with you the advice of another advocate for the benefits of books on the development of our little ones. The brilliant children's book author Jeanne Ashbé , filmed by the Cinémathèque Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles during her visit to the Ti Mounn daycare center .

For those in a hurry (or those who can't turn on the sound), here are some great ideas to remember:

• What often confuses parents is that their child doesn't sit quietly and listen to the story. Yet movement is important in their approach to reading, because they first read with their ears. It's the music of the language that attracts them. Just as with language acquisition, children learn to read by listening to adults read.
• By repeatedly encountering the same short reading sequences, toddlers' minds and psyches develop. It's important to follow the child's reading and not to adhere to the text as if it were dogma; they set the pace!
• Babies move at a slower pace. Reading a book to a baby might mean reading only one page, or the same page for weeks.
• Even if we do not understand what the child perceives of the world, he makes his own way and gives it his own meaning with an exploratory energy on which books can be his companions.

Go ahead! Libraries, media libraries or bookstores; Black & White or color; shapes or characters; have fun and play with the different sounds of your voice to read beautiful stories to your babies!