Flash Cards for Babies?

My mom is a child psychologist, and she is strongly opposed to these. I love the interactive suggestions, and the suggestion of board books, below.

No flashcards for us (mom of 3!). There is the great outdoors and LIFE that you can just talk about!!
"Look! There's a car! They go vroom vroom"
"Look! A cat! meow
This is a cup, you drink out of it. Let's get into the bath....ect.
Flash cards for babies sound kind of silly in my opinion.
L.

I wouldn't recommend it; babies and toddlers don't need flashcards of any kind. Get him some good sturdy board books to look at instead and read to him from colorful picture books.

The best thing you can do for your 1 YO is to talk to him constantly (look at the bus, put the tomato in the cart, mommy loves this flower). And of course, read, read, read to him!

We didn't have flashcards, but we did have a couple of really great books that showed pictures of various things (animals, etc.) Each page has a maybe 15 pics on it and I would ask our daughter "Where is the duck?" etc. and she would point to the correct picture. She absolutely loved it!

This is one of the books that we had and if you scroll down the page, you'll see similar books. They are board books, so very sturdy

http://www.amazon.com/First-100-Words-Bright-Baby/dp/B000...

I agree with the others - get board books instead. My kids had books with one thing on each page, with the word of what it was. They liked the ones with real photos of things (birds, animals, cars). I guess they are like flashcards, since they just have a picture, but in a baby friendly board book format.

Like this - we had a whole set of these books:
http://www.amazon.com/Bright-First-Words-Roger-Priddy/dp/...

What about board books? My sons loved the ones with pictures of real kids or real animals etc.

I used to do flashcards of the alphabet with my son when he was around that age, usually just as he was finishing up mealtime. There was nothing harmful about them, just a fun memory game and he looked forward to them. He knew his letters by sight at around 18 months and the numbers 1-10 shortly thereafter. Eventually he became bored with them and I put them away. They weren't any special brand, just whatever was available at the store.

I don't think the flash cards have made him any more advanced or gifted than other kids in his class. I've just never had to worry about him learning the alphabet because he's known it from so early on.

Well, every one that I know (many people) that work in Early Childhood agree that flashcards for babies are a BAD idea. These instructors often find that the babies/toddlers have developmental issues later on (preK/kinder) and have to be RE TOUGHT HOW to do things because steps were missed. Comprehension is an issue and critical thinking can be hindered as well as problem solving. Babies are better off playing, learning cause and effect with toys, games, songs and world exploration and staring intently at themselves (in a mirror) or PICTURES of themselves/family.

Both my kids loved books from this publisher (the photograph style-not the illustrated ones): http://www.priddybooks.com/Default.aspx?LangType=2057

ETA: Same kind as LeeLee posted a link to. Lol. Sorry to duplicate! :)

Oh geez. What about books? Most books geared for 1 year olds have lots of pictures. Combine that with pictures of your family (or from a magazine, or whatever) and your kiddo should be happy as pie.

This is assuming that you want to share this activity with him.

I don't necessarily think flashcards are a bad thing by any means. I was given some and my son loves to look through them and name the pictures, they're simply the paper ones from a drugstore and they've held up fine. I used them with my son when he was around one...I'd say things like, "What sound does this animal make?"...or ,"Find the car". He also loved to just name all the pictures, they were fun for him.

I also read a ton to my two kids and talk a lot about everything around us. The flashcards were just one more activity for us to do. They thought they were fun so why not!

"Read" short books with big, clear photos. Even if there is one word on each page.

Ask your child librarian to rec such books.

Board-type books for toddlers are great !

Family photos are wonderful, too !

Nursery rhymes and simple songs are great, too.

Babies, toddlers and preschoolers learn by playing and interacting with others. Although the flashcards might offer some opportunity for interaction there are better ways. Get some high quality toys, wooden puzzles, board books, etc. and play with him, talk to him and read to him. Both of my boys knew the alphabet by age 2-3 just from singing, reading and doing alphabet puzzles. My youngest taught himself to read at age 4-5 beause I read to him starting in infancy. I used to sell Discovery Toys and they have some very high quality toys that are both fun and educational. You can probably find a local consultant on line. Have fun.