Your Baby Can Read - Summerville,SC

It's a horrible product. It is pushing children to do things that that developmentally aren't appropriate or necessary. It is so much more important to spend time fostering your child's love of reading by reading to them, developing their vocabulary, and teaching them how print works. They also need to be learning how to solve problems and be creative. The is absolutely no reason to try to teach a baby to memorize words. Give your child a chance to grow up before you start teaching them to read. Right now you need to be doing baby things.

We actually had a discussion about this on another mom's listserve that I belong to. I don't actually own this product, but a few moms did. In a nutshell, they basicall felt that they were good quality materials, but that they don't truly teach your baby to read. They teach memorization, specifically the shapes of words, not the letters that spell them. I am a teacher, I taught reading last year and I have to say that the best way you can help you child to read is to make them love reading. Read to them every chance you get and help them learn to love reading. I'm not sure of the ages of your children, but depending on their age they can learn letter recommendation and/or letter sounds so that they will be able to decode to read, not just memorize words. They will be more successful readers and especially spellers if they focus on sounds now, not the visual. Hope that helps.

A.

Yet another opinion from somone who hasn't actually used the product, (sorry.) But keep in mind that the long-term goal is to get your child to love books and literature. Sooner or later your child *will* learn to read - but will he/she develop a passion for reading?
You don't need a fancy kit for that.

There are also many people who have written extensively on this subject who caution about over-emphasizing teaching a young child to read instead of using that time to cultivate a love of books. I've been reading Jim Trelease's "The Read Aloud Handbook" and Mem Fox's "Reading Magic" and they both believe that it's MUCH more important to find GOOD books that you and your child can BOTH enjoy together. The main point is to get the kids interested in the stories, hooked on literature. Esme Raji Codell, the author of "How to Get Your Child to Love Reading" has a similar philosophy, and a great website, www.planetesme.com.

Make visits to libraries and bookstores a habit, find when they are doing a special story time with the kids.
Pay special attention to the award-winning books. Find a non-fiction picture book on something your kid is nuts about. (My son likes some of those "100 Things You should know About ..." books. He's got one on sharks and on the human body.) Oh, and don't forget the good doctor, Dr. Seuss. Find a comfy chair, get your kid to sit on your lap (it doesn't hurt to add a cup of hot chocolate or a fruit smoothie to the equation), and try "Green Eggs and Ham" - it only has 50 words! (The same words over and over.) Do the old "magic finger" trick where you point as you go. Maybe give your child one word that he/she is responsible for saying when you get to it. ("OK, your word is 'Sam' - whenever we get to 'Sam' you say it.")

There are lots of ways to learn to read, and some kids learn early and some learn late. And that's fine - in many countries the children are not taught to learn until age 7, and they have some of the highest literacy rates in the world. (It's an Icelandic and Scandinavian thing.) And anything with photos of space, rockets, planets, etc.

Some kids will pick up the act of reading easily, and for some it will require more effort and will really be a chore. But "learning to read" usually isn't the fun part, so get them to love, love, LOVE books BEFORE teaching them to read. They'll be much more willing to go through the chore of learning to read if they have a shelf full of beautiful books that they want to read on their own.

I am so glad someone finally posted about this. We purchased the starter DVD and word cards about two months ago. My daughter was 21 months when we got it and my son was 7 months.

My daughter caught on really fast however, she has a love hate relationship with our "word time" and sometimes does not want to do it. Her brother, who is now 9 months old, loves it and actually knows a few of the words!

I do think the window is about 7 months to get them started. They seem to like it more if started earlier.

My daughter, now almost 2 years seems to like flash cards better and has an extensive vocabulary at this point.

I think almost any investment in early learning is worth it and the earlier the better.

Hey there! My son (1 year) received the program for Christmas and has been using it once a day ever since. He had never watched TV before, so it was a little difficult to get him to sit through it, but now he loves it and claps when I am putting it in.
As far as if it's worth the money...I have yet to be convinced either way. He really enjoys it, but has shown little progress. This, apparently, is very normal, they say it can take up to 6 months before they begin to read. After that, it goes quickly and they learn words at a rapid pace. We only use the videos, although we were given flash cards and books as well. When he's older, I'm sure we'll use them, but right now he just wants to throw them across the room. The books and flash cards are really neat and high quality, but I would say if you are only going to get one thing, get the videos and make your own flash cards.
I am interested to hear if anyone has used the program for more time than I have and what their thoughts are. We like it so far!

Hi L.,

We purchased these DVDs and flash cards about 3 months ago. Our son will be 2 in March. Unfortunately, he has phases with the program. Sometimes he will sit and watch and other times he's completely uninterested. All he wants to do with the flash cards is try to rip them and play with them. I think if you start at a younger age you wouldn't have these issues. I agree that it's pretty much all about memorization. I try to spell out the words on the cards to work in letters and phonics (when he'll let me!!). I think if nothing else, it's helping with speech and vocabulary. My son is really picking up a lot lately, not sure if it's just the age or the program. Is it worth the money???? Well, knowing what I know now, I probably would not have purchased it (since my son is older), but we will continue using it just in case it is doing something lol. You caould probably achieve the same results if you just do a lot of reading with your kids. Take extra time with each book pointing out different things in the pictures and sounding out the words while pointing to the letters. Have the children point out items on the page.

Hope this helps....a little!!
Good Luck & God Bless

Hi L.--

My daughter is 13 months and she has been using it for about two months now--I have mixed feelings about it--She definitely enjoys watching the DVD's and actually participates--Since we have been using them she has learned several words--whether she can read them I am not sure....She has learned the MEANING of words--clap, nose, eyes, diaper, etc......She can point to different body parts when you ask her---Whether she would have learned this on her own with me teaching and re-enforcing words I'm not sure....She definitely enjoys it and always wants me to play the DVD.....I've tried the flash cards and books and I think they are a little too advanced for her...We still use them but it is hard to keep her interested.....I think the key with this program is consistancy....The instructions say to watch the DVD twice a day every day....If You do it that often its hard to imagine your child won't memorize the DVD--Its only our second month with it---We'll give it a few more months before I am convinced! Hope this helps....

Hi, L.. I started using Your Baby Can Read this Christmas with my 17 month old. My sister is due in a month, so we split the cost and I'm just going to pass it down to her. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't have bought it because of the expense. However, I have been pleased with it. I know my son is at the age that he's really going to start talking, but I think the books and DVDs helped jumpstart his talking and has definately improved his vocabulary.

We are in our second month with the series. I work, so we can't expose him to all the DVDs, books, and flashcards as much as I wish we could, but I wouldn't say he's reading the words yet. I definately think he will, though, given some time.

I would recommend the program, but I also recommend finding someone to split the cost with you or get help from even the baby's grandparent, to help with the cost.

Hi L.,

I haven't used it but I do have an opinion, lol. This program looks incredible. It's my understanding that the program itself is like a "sight and see" method which is memorization. This alone is not good. Phonics HAS to be taught, not absorbed, whether now or later. Phonics are the rules that run any language. The brain is the only organ that continues to really develop after birth and it gets stronger, i.e. smarter, just like muscles do, if it is used more, so teaching is ALWAYS good. All that to say this.... I'm not saying don’t try this or even that it won't work, but once your child is reading make sure you haven’t relied on it to teach everything.

When the Sight and See method was first developed (in the wonderful 60s), the teachers were told that English was a difficult language because there were so many exceptions to the rules so memorization would make it easier. That is not true. (Academically the SAT scores and college grades are lower for those that learned to read by “sight and see.”) English just has more rules to learn than most other languages. Once the rules are learned, ANYONE can read ANYTHING.

If you want more information before you buy it, the question I would ask is where are the adolescents and college kids, academically and professionally, that learned to read this way.

M.
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