Click N Read Program to Teach Them? Does It Work?

Agreed- read with her! I am an early childhood major and nothing can replace reading with her. Do sight words too. That is used in many Kindergarten classes! Contact me for more info and questions if needed!
M.

I have worked in a children's specialty book store for over a decade. In that time I have worked with HUNDREDS of kids- early readers, reluctant readers, new readers, teens, you name it.

Gimmicks and 'programs' will NOT teach your kid to read. First off, at age 3, she is already young to be reading. Contrary to what some competitve parents and people who want to sell you stuff will tell you, trying to force a toddler into reading is much more likely to BACKFIRE on you later.

The majority of kids begin to learn to read around age 4 or 5. 'Baby whatever' programs can show your child rote memorization- but this is not what will really stimulate the neural pathways that allow your child to learn to read.

The number 1 thing you, as a parent, can do to raise a child that not only LEARNS to read, but learns to LOVE TO READ, and who will continue to read when they get older and as an adult is so simple that most parents just don't want to believe it.

READ TO YOUR CHILD OUT LOUD.

Seriously, that is the single most useful thing you can do. Reading aloud works on several different levels to stimulate your child to read on their own.

1)Hearing the sounds aloud helps children to associate sounds/letter shapes/pictures as all meaning the SAME THING. The more often you do this, the greater the association.

2)Many books for young children rhyme. That's partly because rhyming stimulates neural growth in the language centers of the brain. Words that rhyme 'stick' in a child's brain and also stimulate their sense of recognition.

3)Setting aside read aloud time creates a strong bond between the child and the reader. It indicates to the child that this is a special time, an important time, where the two of you are focusing together on something.

4) Many children find reading aloud and a parent's voice soothing. It allows you to bond with your child while effortlessly teaching them something.

Please PLEASE do not make the mistake I have seen so many well-meaning parents make by trying to 'advance' your child too quickly. A toddler who can parrot some letters and words is NOT reading. A child who is forced into doing this too early, before their own senses are ready often rebels later and ends up reading LESS fluently or being prejudiced AGAINST reading in elementary school. I have seen this over and over with parents who are determained to make their child 'gifted' or 'advanced'.

At age 3 your daughter's brain is learning CONSTANTLY- even when you don't see it happening specifically. She is processing so much information all the time. Don't stress her out by forcing things she doesn't need now onto her.

The important thing is that your little one learn that reading is a WONDERFUL thing- fun, warm, entertaining, special. You want her to learn to WANT to read- do that, and the action of reading will come all on its own.

My own son, I read aloud to all the time. At age 4 he was reading at a normal level, but not advanced for his age. We just kept reading aloud and by second grade he was reading at a 4th grade level. now he is in 4th grade, in the gifted program - and reading at a high-school level. All we did was read out loud to him- no gimmicks, no 'programs' - just books.

Some books I recommend:

Read To Your Bunny - Rosemary Wells

The Cozy Book- Mary Ann Hoberman

Seven Silly Eaters- Mary Ann Hoberman

Jamberry - Bruce Degan

Just READ to your child at least 1/2 an hour a day or more. Honestly, that's all you need to do!!

I agree with Elizabeth R - reading with your child is far more valuable than any 'program' that claims to teach your child to recognize letters and sounds. IMO there's a *big* difference between "teaching a child *to* read" and "teaching a child to *love to read*". So even if these various programs teach a child to recognize letters and sounds and sound out words, if the child isn't also discovering that these sounds and words can tell them fascinating information about the things they're curious about, help them express their feelings, and make wonderful stories that can captivate the imagination, it's like building a car that has a body, wheels, and seats but no engine or transmission - it might look nice on the outside but it can't really *go* anywhere.

Your local public library is an awesome resource - most will have story times specifically geared for age groups such as toddlers and preschoolers, and children's librarians are treasures who will have loads of suggestions for books that will capture your child's interest. My 8YO daughters have been going to the local public library practically every week since before they could walk, and hearing stories read aloud at home and at library story times has helped them nurture a love of reading and a desire to keep reading.

Don't waste your money. Enjoy your time with her - sit her on your lap and read to her. Kids need to be read to 1000 hours before they learn to read (or so I've heard). There is no short cut - and the cuddliest happiest times are snuggled together with a blanket and a stack of books. It also helps build their attention span. Start reading a short book, have her turn the page, and get through the whole book (if that means skipping some words, fine) - just get her used to sitting through a book and turning the last page. Ask her questions about the pictures (but not too many so she gets bored). All our kids are readers - even my 7 year old with Down Syndrome. Enjoy!

My kids really respond to music. One of my oldest son's daycare providers gave us a Fridge Phonics set, and it's great! We love it! With that, both of our boys learned/are learning the sounds. Here is a link to the toy so you can see it: http://www.leapfrog.com/en/fridge_phonics/fridgephonics.html. Also, we look for letters and make their sounds when we are out and about. The boys love that game! They are currently ages 3 1/2 and 19 months.

Elizabeth and Elaine are right on target. Don't compare your daughter to other kids, or you will seriously jeapoardize her sense of her own ability, her own joy in learning for learning's sake. She'll get it when all the earlier steps have taken whatever time they require, and then she'll REALLY get it. And reading out loud to her is the most important step.

I have not used the program but have used phonics based books for my children. They were all reading before kindergarten.
Some programs say that they will have a child reading in so many weeks or whatever. But these programs teach word recognition, not phonics. If a child doesn't have the letter and diphthongs in her head how can she really read. How can she decipher words she has never seen.
We used Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons along with the Bob books, the scholastic early reading books, and Dr Suess (who has nonsensical names to sound out).

I agree with the others that all you need to do is read to/with your daughter. That being said, different children start to read on their own at their own pace. We did the same things with both of my children ... my son started to read at the age of 2, but daughter wasn't interested until she was almost 6. Now at 8, she's reading on grade level and is a voracious reader. He, on the other hand, only reads what's assigned to him.
Most importantly spending time with your daughter reading is a great bonding experience and will teach her that you're there for her ... which is a more important lesson for her than to read at age 3 or 4.

If you type in "click n read program sample" into a search engine, you can actually see some of the lessons in action. The most important thing for a child to learn is phonics, so they can sound out unfamiliar words. Whole word programs rely to much on the child's memory, so they won't be able to read new words or have trouble if they forget a word. It looks like this program does use phonics, which is good. There's also an older program called "hooked on phonics." As for the program they advertise on TV with babies reading, you can do that on your own by making your own flash cards.

Recognizing letters is not the same as reading. I would not suggest spending money on a reading program. A 3 year old does not have to read and reading should not be expected in preschool!
Kids who enter kindergarten reading do not have an advantage (I wrk in an elementary school). The entire curriculum is based on teaching children to read, and the ones who do are either bored, or they have not learned properly, based on the reading program that their school uses. A lot of these at-home programs teach sight word recognition, but reading is based on things like phonemic awareness
The most important thing to do is to read to your daughter, point out anything with letters or words on it and surround her with books that she can look at herself. Sitting in front of a computer program is counterproductive to reading.
Let school teach your child to read, and you take on the task of instilling a love of books in your daughter -there is no better gift than that.

Hi, I have a 10 year old who was diagnosed as being severely dyslexic. I have tried many programs to help him read. Just when I thought all was lost, I came across a commercial for the program Baby Can Read. Although our situations are different, I just wanted to suggest to you a program that I know works even for a child with such a severe learning disability. I have also purchased the Click N Read program. The Click N Read worked for him, but he has a very hard time tracking words in a sentence. Click N Read will help her to get used to the computer as well. The difference in the programs: Click N Read teaches phonetics and how to read from left to right at the child's own pace. The Baby Can Read program teaches a child how to read the whole word, not the phonetics. Because learning the English language is difficult, due to the many exceptions to the rules, I believe each program can be beneficial in its own way

I'll tell you, it drives me nuts when I read about these other parents who have pushed their children so much without giving them a chance to be kids. I am referring to the other parents who are making you feel inferior regarding your child; not you.

I have 3 so far and can tell you, your daughter is doing well for 3, especially if she can already spell a little. Find a game like Reader Rabbit Toddler that is a computer game. It has different, age appropriate things where it teaches counting, matching, and letter sounds to name a few. You can also get one of those lap ABC electronic boards where you can use it to teach letters, sounds, spelling, etc.

I would NOT base pushing your child on these other kids. My oldest knew a good bit going into kindergarten but not really how to read. My youngest knew all of his letters and how to count to 20 by the time he was 18 months. My middle son could barely identify all of his letters by the time he got to kindergarten. I almost held him out because of it and put him in pre-K like we did his older brother. I'm glad we didn't though because of the two older ones who are in school, my middle son is the one doing the best!!

Let your daughter be a kid! They already get pushed so much earlier than when we were little. BTW, I have heard this from a very good friend who is a kindergarden teacher. She said it actually messes her lessons up when she has kids come in who are TOO prepared. She was saying the parents in her school district are very competitive in that they don't want to hear other kids are doing more than their own so she knows of students whose parents have bought all sorts of programs, taken them to tutors, etc. all before they even started kindergarden!!! She said it's a big reason why K keeps getting harder - because of the parents who aren't letting their kids just be kids.

BTW, I've had 2 children go through preschool and NONE of the teachers introduced reading until the pre-K class.