My Baby Can Read - Sandusky,OH

My daughter is 8 and every time that commercial comes on she has a fit. She will go on and on about how that is impossible etc...

I don't like the idea, why does a baby need to read? In my opinion, just a reason for the parents to brag. Let him/her play and learn to read in school with the other kids!

How about raising a thinker? Logic, problem solving, playing---they are going to school and learn the skill of reading in a few years. Why waste valuable time with repeating this effort. Instead, they need to be doing what they should be doing developmentally---playing. And read to them---they will get far more out of the IDEAS you read to them.

Every time it comes on I feel bad for the kids. How about "My Baby Can Play"

;)

It doesn't teach phonics, which can later be a HUGE problem when "really" learning to read.
If a person is looking to help their baby communicate better in society, why don't they teach them sign language?? It's something that helps to stimulate the brain in the language area (which creates more synapses and ultimately helps learning languages to come easier down the road if continued), and, it comes in handy when they can't express what they want through words!
I did this starting at around 6 mo. w/ my babies, and by about 9 months, I had babies signing "milk" when they were hungry (instead of screaming!)
You can check books out of the library for this. I highly recommend ASL vs fake signs.

My daughter is an early reader. She started reading at 4. Now she's in kindergarten and has been reading for 2 years. At home, she reads chapter books. At school, she is learning sight words like "the" "and" "he", etc. She is bored at school when they teach reading. I didn't teach her how to read. She just figured it out on her own when she was ready to. She's also high-functioning autistic (Asperger's) and reading early is actually pretty common with this diagnosis--probably because their brains are wired differently.

So, my question to you is...why do you want your child to read at a young age? Is it really that important? Do you want them to be bored in school?

I think it's great to give kids the tools to be able to read in a timely fashion...read to them often, have lots of books that they can look through, provide phonetic toys so they can learn their letters and the sounds these letters make. But personally, I don't think it's great to actually try to get them to read at a young age. Allow them to do it when their brains are ready for it. When their brain is ready, the reading will come very easily.

C.
www.littlebitquirky.blogspot.com

Hi E.,
I purchased Your Baby Can Read about a yr ago when Ariana just turned 3. I personally feel it's not the best way to learn as it's all about learning through sight. The best way to learn to read is not by sight, but by phonics.
Please check out Leap Frog (free at the library or $12 at Walmart) Letter Factory. My daughter learned the sounds of the letters after watching the tape 3 times! It's a lot of fun! She can read thanks to knowing what the letters sound like.
See for yourself. Go to the Library, check out Your Baby Can Read as well as the Letter Factory. I told my friends about Letter Factory and they can't thank me enough.

Okay. I'll start with this. My "baby" CAN read (well he's four now, but he's been reading well enough to call it reading since last summer and as well as he would have with those dvds for about 6 months before that).

HE sometimes like to watch the Baby Can Read movies on YouTube and I've watched with him. They're about as cute as a "Kids Songs" video.

I don't see how they could hurt, BUT if your goal is to get a child to be a fluent reader it's going to take a much more enriched environment (and an interested child) than simply popping in a video every day.

Anyway, my advice is to find them on YouTube and see what you think. See if you little one enjoys them and if you think it's worth the money. Like PPs have said, the Leapfrog videos are great because they actually teach them a lot about how words work. My son's reading actually started because he saw the Letter Factory movie at a cousins house at 2 1/2 and started trying to sound out every word he saw. (He's an unusual kid, but I think the videos could help other kids as well).

HTH
T.

It may seem to give your child a small advantage (or huge depending) but previous studies have shown that other children not pushed by their parents catch up to the "pushed" children in the first years of school anyway. Give your child a break and just let him learn on his own and be a child.
If you do want to help your child, I agree with Elaine. My 3 year old watched Letter Factory 3 times and knew all the letters and the sounds they make. Phonics is a better way to help them in school-and for life.

don't waster your money. Read to your child everyday and he will learn language.

I highly suggest the book "Einstein Never Used Flashcards". Love it. Talks about tons of studies that have proven the best way for children to learn. In a nutshell - turn them loose on a playground with a group of kids of various ages with no parents. One of the best things to teach your child is problem-solving and the only way to do that is to sit back and let them play and experiment. As others have stated, teaching phonics is the best way to teach reading because you are giving your child a tool they can use the rest of their life to figure out new words. Studies show that kids who learn to sight-read at an early age, instead of learning phonics, do worse in the long term (both in school and in life).

I second Elaine with the Letter Factory

Anything that promotes the idea that you don't even have to do anything -- you just sit your kid in front of the TV -- can't be good. It's way more important to play with your baby and read TO your baby and enjoy that time. I know one person who bought it who thought it was a total waste.

What are you trying to accomplish with this program? It is tempting to think that there is something you can buy to give your child a leg up, but don't waste your money. It won't help them be any further along than they would be by age 8-9 even if they get there faster. It all equals out unless they are going to be ahead anyway. I see it a lot, kids who are accelerated early, then both parent and child are confused and disapointed when they are not actually "gifted" by the end of 3rd grade. Why not just provide enrichement opportunities, read to them, let them play, and give them access to the best education you can at the typical pace? There truly is a progression of development, and while you can tinker with it, are you really sure that you want to? You really cannot buy giftedness...

Do some research online about the different approaches to learning to read. There are phonetic based methods that are proven over decades of use and then there are also the kind like "my baby can read" that does not teach phonics. They teach based on memorization and sight reading. It's not a good technique to use in my opinion. Yes it may work for some in the beginning, but I think it will only cause problems down the road for the child because they won't have any phonetic understanding of the alphabet. Like I said, do some searching online and you'll find lots of articles with pros and cons for both methods. But like others have said - when I hear parents using that I always want to ask them - "why does your baby NEED to read?" I'm always concerned when I see parents pushing kids to do things earlier and earlier. Can't a baby just be a baby? There's going to be plenty of time to teach all sorts of things later. But for now, enjoy your baby - they aren't little for long!

i agree with kate and liv. pointless. and a huge waste of a LOT of time and effort. plus they aren't reading - they're memorizing words. that's completely different.

I personally is against this program. We as parents would really like to see our children be the best and excel in everything that they do. But in reality - they are going to do what they can do best - be themselves. I believe a young child needs to play and be a kid. Our kids are actually learning everyday whether we realize it or not. My son is 4 - he asks me what is this and why? I answer him - almost every question too. It truely can be draining and I have a hard time thinking of an answer. But he want's to know and understand. We are teaching him that knowledge. Let your kid go outside and play in the dirt and mud - it's ok - it'll wash out.

lol- the other responses are cracking me up- especially the "my baby can play" comment. Yep, I agree- it may be fun to have around- but def not necessary- and JUST as helpful to just read books and talk about the words and teach vocabulary through everyday activities. The program is all about memorizing- which is actually what kids do when they first start learning to read- they start with "sight words"! So, what's the rush? ANY activity that you do with your child- based on their interests and daily routines will help them grow and learn!

There's no point in it, IMO. I think kids will learn in their own time when they've become curious enough to learn the alphabet and its sounds. I believe in following the child's lead.