Your Baby Can read..does It Work?

Shameless capitalism. And there's a LOT of good reasons why a 19 month old baby SHOULDN'T read.

:)

I'm positive this question has been asked before. I think about 99% of them said it was a rip-off. (We watch the infomercial every one in awhile to see the kid that looks like my son.)

This question gets asked quite frequently... you may want to do a "search" for responses.

I'm very strongly against these programs b/c they are expensive and they teach your child to (at best) recognize high-frequency sight words, but they do not have any long-term reading impact. There is no "comprehension" involved, nor is there any application of the "elements of narration". Most of the research that is conducted is done by the publisher which makes it "biased" at best and any gains that are made using the program are "neutralized" by second grade when the rest of the kids are able to read sight words too! The program will not prevent a learning disability.

These programs are really expensive and (as an educator and now school administrator who specializes in literacy) I will assure you that you are far better off if you talk with your child throughout the day, narrate your activities, teach her vocabulary from her world, take her on little day trips and READ READ READ every day to her and let her see you reading too!

She's a toddler, don't worry about "boxed" learning experiences, instead:
- Join a toddler group at the library
- Read every day
- Encourage and faciliate imaginative play
- Play-doh
- Paints and other sensory/ textural activities (and talk about the colors and how the items "feel")
- Expose her to letters, numbers, words and literary structures (poetry and nursery rhymes are great)
- When you read to her, encourage her to "fill in the blanks" so that she makes the connection b/w your words and the squiggles on the page "Good night ____, good night air, good night ____ everywhere!"

Please don't spend your money on these kits- spend it on experiences and "trade books"... also known as the books you find in the library!

This question gets asked about once a week. The answer is a resounding no. It's a scam, and the company does a good job separating people from their money. Keep reading books to your daughter and enjoy these toddler years. They go by too fast, and she will be reading. (The program encourages you to sit your baby in front of a tv to watch dvds that contain sight words. Not a good thing for just that reason.)

I wouldnt BUY any of that stuff. Just read and point out words to your baby yourself. You dont need all those kits. You can buy flashcards at the dollar store if you want to go that route.
Dr Seuss books are some of the best early reader books in my experience with my sons and granddaughter, all of which read before the age of two.

I'm a firm believer in phonics-based programs. YBCR is not phonics-based. Those kids aren't READING the word 'cat' any more than they're reading when they see a live cat and call it 'cat'!

If you want an actual program, try Hooked on Phonics, Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, or The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading. Play with letter magnets (upper and lower case). If you like video based programs, Netflix now has a few Leap Frog and Word World videos.

Whatever you choose, just have fun. It's not a race.

No, and babies do not need to read. Have you listened carefully to the advertisement? It makes a claim that it does not really make. It says that early readers do better in school...that is a correlation there for sure. But it does not claim that a child who would not otherwise be an early reader will do any better in school if you buy this program, even if they learn a darn thing from it, and babies have plenty of development to do without putting something important aside to concentrate on learning something that is not developmently appropriate, nor necessary.

The fact is, they are manipulating you to spend money. It is a total fraud. The man who invented it did write a book, but it has nothing to do with reading, or children and he has zero credentials in education or early childhood development. His company has a terrible rating on the BBB, so even if you want your money back, you won't get it.

What is a baby going to read anyway? Honestly, you cannot give your child a leg up to giftedness if they are not already gifted. Potential is neurological. You will be a exactly the same place with your child's intelectual development if you enrich thier enviornment with books that you read to them, and books that they see you reading, and if you talk to them all the time and take them places that are interesting. That is all you really need to do to develop the intelectual potential that your child was born with.

While you can cause mental retardation if you deprive a baby of all stimulus and langague exposure, the inverse is not true. You can have considerably less money if you chase these kinds of ventrues. Keep your money. Go to the park and talk about the way the grass looks, feels, smells, and grows. Count steps and stairs, and read signs on the road. Touch things, smell things, describe textures and use a lot of descriptive words in full grown up sentences that expose them to rich vocabualry and good gramatical structure. Encorage couriosity. All that can be done without spending a dime, and if they are capable of reading early, they will do it anyway, and you won't have to spend a cent.

M.

Think about it. Why on earth would anyone really want their baby to "read"? Don't waste your time or money! Read to her everyday and let her "read" books.

I agree with the others. The children are not reading. They are recognizing words on sight. They see the word "dog" and recognize it but that doesn't mean that they can then read the word "god" even though the same letters are used (which a child who can read or is learning to read can do). In my opinion, a child must first learn the alphabet and the letter sounds prior to learning to read.

They have a commercial on the radio now that says if your baby learns to read when they are a baby then they will stay off drugs when they get older.
I wouldn't buy it. Just keep reading to her and practice ABC's and letter sounds and she will learn when she is ready.

Updated

They have a commercial on the radio now that says if your baby learns to read when they are a baby then they will stay off drugs when they get older.
I wouldn't buy it. Just keep reading to her and practice ABC's and letter sounds and she will learn when she is ready.

I agree with most of the posts--spend your time with her, not your money. You are her best first teacher.

Thanks for asking this question. I was thinking of getting it to. Glad I didn't.
Thanks girls!

All this stuff will do is ensure that our kids have anxiety at a young age. You are already doing the best that you can do, instilling the love of reading in her. If you push too hard she may not learn to love to read. That is what we all want for our kids.

Listen to Krista...

I was going to reply with pretty much the same response.
Go for a phonics based reading program. Not some "miracle" one.
Like others have said. it teaches the child to memorize the word.
That's not reading at that age.
Because once they get older they will not know what each letter sounds like and why C-A-T spells Cat.

Your Baby Can Read teaches children to recognize site words. Recognizing site words is not reading but it is an important step towards reading...typically kids start learning site words in kindergarten...you know some of the words that don't follow typical decoding rules and/or those that you see frequently.

I purchased the 7 DVD set that is by the Preschool Prep Company. It teaches colors, shapes, numbers, letters, and three different sets of site words. These are not videos that you as a parent would enjoy sitting to watch but the kids enjoy them. When I purchased them, my daughter already knew the alphabet, numbers, shapes, and colors but I wanted to get the complete set anyway and used it as reinforcement (also figured my sister and brother could use for my nephews). I didn't but them from the company though, I saved money by going to Ebay.

it works-WalMart had it for around $60-Barnes & N-around $100