This 14-month-old baby has been listening to stories since birth — then she decided to pick up a book
Babies learn faster than their brains may comprehend. Right from birth, their cognitive abilities begin a lifelong process of learning that urges the baby to emulate their caregivers’ actions. Eliana, a 14-month-old baby, impressed the internet with her dramatic reading session, which many people found too good to be true. In a video shared by Carrie Rad (@carrierad) on TikTok, Eliana holds up a book nearly her size and pretends to read a story with reasonable flair. But there’s one problem: the words are her own.
Gibberish is a popular language in the baby world. More often than not, a parent will find their toddler conversing in made-up words and sentences. This is not to be confused with an inability to grasp language, but is rather a glimpse of the baby’s cognitive development. Eliana’s parents have tried to inculcate the brilliant habit of reading ever since she was born. It was not long before the little bookworm started catching up with her impeccable storytelling. “We’ve been reading to our 14-month-old since birth, and now she spends hours reading to us in her own language,” an overlay text on the video revealed.
The adorable snippet, filmed from a high angle, shows Eliana sitting with her book and blabbering gibberish. While the words were incoherent, her impressions of a reader were on point. At one point, she even paused her reading to turn the page and then picked up from the next page, occasionally looking at the visuals in between her narration. “Gibberish reading is my favorite thing in the world,” the post was captioned. Eliana’s storytelling turned heads on the internet, amassing 7.9 million views and about 2 million hearts.
People reacted to her skill with a mix of humor, awe, and encouragement. One person (@beverlyarmentoauthor) wrote, “Wow! This is fantastic! Such inflection and commitment to her storytelling!” While another (@simp50ns) requested, “Can she read to us every night?” “I understood every word she said, best professional ever,” praised @josxkl1m. Similarly, a viewer (@marionthomas30) shared their personal experience, “My grandson would babble away, to tell us stories, in his own language, and then every once in a while, he would stop. Start slapping his thigh and laughing at the terrific ‘joke’ he just told.” @djohnson.2020 explained, “She’s pre-reading, it’s a real thing. Every teacher knows this from parents reading to their children.”
“My daughter used to do this! She is a voracious reader now at 27. So cute,” marked @lynnstein09. Then the jokes followed. Someone (@nosi222708) mused, “I hope you listen attentively and don't waste her time, ma’am!” @ahpetite said, “She taught me Latin class in college. Adorable lady!” According to a study by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, reading is crucial for brain development due to the rhythms and tones in speech that facilitate communication and improve language skills. Moreover, listening to a caregiver’s voice fosters empathy and early understanding of feelings, which positively affects emotional regulation later in life.
You can follow @carrierad on TikTok for more videos.