Any thoughts on "My Baby Can Read"?

Kitz - posted on 03/04/2011

I thought they looked ludicrous. So I would not consider purchasing them. If you did I do NOT ridicule you. Do what you feel is best for your child.

I do agree with the belief that at ages 1-3 the program teaches these youngsters to memorize the word as a shape and not a sounding out of comfortable letters. This is why they feel it is not as effective as learning the alphabet 1st, then sound out words. It's very much like a child should first roll over, then crawl, then walk... but we'll still have to see if there's harm in the word shape recognition. It's too early to tell and the educational professionals complaining about it are not basing their claims on fact.

I just read to my son. We read at least 5 books per day. He does sight word (Dolch) flash cards as long as he can stand it and he's doing just fine.

Nothing is more important to your child than a good mother's intuition. Go with your gut!

Becky - posted on 04/22/2010

I'm skeptical. I'm sure it has some benefits, but I don't think there is anything to it that you cannot do on your own with your child for far less money. I read to my son daily, and at 26 months, he can already recite, word for word, all of his favorite books. (he can probably "read" 6-10 of them to me!) He can recite nursery rhymes and sing songs, count to 10, and speaks in 7+ word sentences. And all of that without using any type of program that we had to pay money for. And contrary to what some people say, he does learn from TV too. In a parking lot, he can tell you what brand of cars most of the vehicles are! He knows several stores that we never even shop at, just from seeing the ads for them on TV. Not sure if that's a good thing or not, but he is learning. (It does make me aware that I have to be very cautious about what I let him watch because he picks up so much!) I definitely don't think TV watching has hurt his vocabulary though.

Annaliza - posted on 04/22/2010

Hi!

We started the your baby can read program when my daughter was 6 months old. Shes now 21 months and it blows me away with how much she knows! Shes loves to watch the videos and always wants to read the books. I highly recommend it. She is our 3rd child, I wish we had the program when our other children were babies.

Lindsey - posted on 04/22/2010

I agree with making flashcards -- that's a lot of what the program is. I'm sure it works, but it's memorization, like others have said. No harm in learning sight words though. Just make your own and save some money!

Lindsey
growingkidsministry.com

Sandra - posted on 04/06/2010

I got it about a yr ago was going to start my daughter on it.. You have to have ALOT of pateince with them, and its almost 300 dollars, when all it is is books, flash cards, and dvds that you can buy at wal mart and save 200-250 dollars.. Or Books a million ect. In my own opinion i wouldn't recomend it. If you do good luck and let me know the turn outs, and how you did it.. :D

Valerie - posted on 04/05/2010

as a child development major and mother of 5 I can say will it work probably is it good for your child? maybe. But what I do know is phsically the brain is not wired to be able to read until the age of 8, we do began teaching them to read in kindergarten and most catch on with some struggling antil the end of 1st grade. This can be frustrating for the child and the parent that thinks oh my gosh my child is learning challenaged when really your child is normal. we all learn how to talk and walk at different stages and the same goes for reading. You can invest the money and the time in the product but even if your child can read the words are they able to comprehend the meaning behind the word? That's what real reading is. It's the same as potty training, you can try to teach them to use the potty at age 1 and some kids are ready and learn n no problems, othe children are not ready but will learn but have slips that sometimes are emotionally hard on them and cause them to regress in the potty traing for a bit causeing more harm. A child will patty train when their bodies, minds and emotions are ready the same goes for every miles stone including reading, if you push it too soon you risk doing damage that might make the child reluctant to want to go further...nature designed use to reach milestones at certain intervals based on survival, your child will read and no "program" that teaches them earlier of later is really going to change that :)

Kathy - posted on 04/05/2010

I must admit I'm always pretty wary when companies start selling products to replace what parents can and should be doing themselves.

I could read before I went to school, and I'm 55 now. We didn't have TV but there were always books, newspapers and magazines in the house. I often went to the library with mum and dad an my siblings. Mum and Dad didn't have a lot of education but always read to me and with me. We talked about the words and the sounds. In fact we talked lots about everything!

I did the same with my kids. They could all read before they went to school because it's just part of their development, not a process of "teaching them to read." You don't need to pay some company for a dubious product - these companies work by preying on our insecurities and they're only in it to make money, not because they have our children's interests at heart.

Louella - posted on 04/05/2010

Well said Andrea!My three year old can read and sound out words she has not seen befour(70% of the time). Anything i may have not done to teacher standard im sure she will learn at school .

Diana - posted on 04/03/2010

My daughter Lucia is 14 months old. She started watching it when she was about 9 1/2 months old and YES is works. However, you can not just make the child watch the dvd. It is a whole program that you have to do with them. There are books and flash cards and a schedule you have to follow with all the dvds. My Lucia loves it now. She really wouldn't watch it bore she was 9 1/2 months. I will tell you that she has a vocabulary of over 50 words and she can read at least 15 to 18 words. It is amazing!!!! I do recommend it. It is also fun to see her get so excited to play with her books and want to watch the dvd. Hey it also gives you a 24 minute break......lol I hope this was helpful!

Bec - posted on 04/03/2010

I have 2 kids that are reading well above age level. My eldest stunned people by doing sentences at 13 months. We have always read with the kids, I used to read poetry at bed time from babyhood and bedtime reading is the norm. It really does depend on the child. After using a Montessori preschool I really think teaching them chunking of words and sounding out is very important so that when they come across words they don't knowthey can work them out, and this leads in a way to self teaching. The main thing is to make it fun and not a chore and to teach them a love of reading and what they can get from it. Having them see you sitting down reading a good book helps too. Don't worry too much, my first spoke early, my second not until almost 3 and I now wonder why I was so worried. Good luck, it is a lovely age

Tamarra - posted on 04/03/2010

I don't think its a good idea at all. I have the videos but I don't use them. We taught my baby sister how to read ourselves by the time she was 3 and she has had SO much trouble in school (She is 7) because she is beyond her age on reading/writing/math but lacks the social skills to get placed in higher grades.

Jennifer - posted on 04/03/2010

I love it! My 2 year old son is so interactive and loves all the videos and books. He know the majority of the words now and saw them the minute he sees them. I don't do it exactly like it says to videos twice a day, books, cards. I just put them in once a day and read a book before bed time.

I'd say worth the investment!

Julia - posted on 04/03/2010

Jamee, it's not too late for your 11-year old! I went through this with my stepdaughter when she was 10 and 11 (she was almost 11 when I finally met her). We got her help through school; she was placed in special reading/writing classes and by the time she was 14, she was caught up to her peers... she was way behind them before. Her entire school life is improved because her reading and vocabulary are better. Start by making an appointment with the school counselor and ask them to evaluate her and come up with a plan. She will get an Individual Education Plan (IEP) and might be assigned to special education classes. These DO NOT have the stigma that they did 20 years ago, and I was amazed how helpful they were for my stepdaughter. Don't give up on her at any level... you should be her biggest cheerleader!!

Jamee - posted on 04/03/2010

I have to say that it makes me sad to see my 11 year old daughter struggle in school, I spent a lot of floor play with her when she was little but I never just read to her. She has struggled. Now my son who is 5 years old, I have read to him, posted index cards around the house on objects with the words printed out on them....couch, chair, television, door, etc I can tell you his preschool teacher says he will be the first to read in his class. I am so excited that just a little bit of interaction with reading has improved his chances at not struggling in school. I wish I would have bought the program when he was very young and done it with him. You need to expand their brains and start all those neuro-passage ways clicking! I say DO IT! What can it hurt...you will also spend time interacting with your child and that's not a bad thing. It will build confidence and intelligence. Just don't forget to be a parent too and provide love.

Cynthia - posted on 04/03/2010

its just a phonics system from what i can tell. flash cards and such. i dont think the actual kit is necassary but the instructional part might be key becuase alot of parents probably dont know the best way to approach early reading and such so that probably does help for that reason. it also depends on the child. some children just aren't going to be into something like this, and kids with other things going on wont grasp it either -adhd/autism etc...
that being said, i have introduced my youngest child to reading early. at almost ten months she loves books, brings them to us to be read, gets very excited about this, and repeats after us some of the words in the books that are single word per page type ones already. she also like to use the website kneebouncers.com also, educational.

Kathy - posted on 04/03/2010

Don't waste your money! Take your child to the library!

Jen - posted on 04/02/2010

wht u ladies am talking about is sticking ur child in front of a tv n or computer why not go out let them choose sum books n read to them or get sum games cards with words n pictures they will be learning while spending time with you. even try the baby sign lanuage classes signing n reading.

Nicole - posted on 04/02/2010

I would seriously NOT recommend it. It will teach your child to read but it uses whole word reading instead of teaching phonics. The problem is, it does work but it makes it much much much harder for the child to learn to read properly by the time they reach school. They have a harder time sounding words out and reading context into words and sentences. They only know a word when it's in it's whole form and not broken down into pieces. This actually use to be the way they taught children to learn ages ago, my mother for example learned to read this way, and she'll be the first to tell you she still to this day (in her late 60's now) has a hard time sounding out new words.

I was very interested in this as well when I first saw it on TV so my husband and I did a lot of research online about it. I suggest you all do as well before going this route. For a short goal advantage it becomes a long term hinderence for children. Skip it all together and just start teaching them the right way to read, through reading to them and alphabet letters and sounds. :)

Brandy - posted on 04/02/2010

I think it is a load of crap. The best way to help your baby with language and literacy is to read to her, read to her, read to her!

Lola - posted on 04/02/2010

I have read some of the replies on this and here's my 2 cents. I bought the program for my 2 year old about 2 years ago. The program expanded her word recognition and helped her to learn new words and reading. We read to both of our kids at least 2 hours a day, and they also watch PBS programming. They don't watch a ton of tv, but they do get to watch intelligent shows.



The 4 year old is reading right now at at a 2nd grade level, and the almost 2 year old is reading the 3 and 4 letter words. Do I think that this should be the only interaction and teaching that the kids should have? no. Each child is different and each child should be provided with the tools that help promote her/his individual interests. My girls love to read and to be read to. With this program I was able to give her more one-on-one interaction with different words and to help her start recognizing longer words. From the very beginning, we stressed her knowing the word sounds and how to sound out words she doesn't know. We had done the flash cards, so she knew the alphabet, but I think this program just helped her put everything together. Now she likes to sit down and read books to her little sister.



Would this program be good for someone that wants another tool to help challenge their child? Yes. Is it a babysitting tool? No. You have to work with the child, interact with their cards, and have the child read the books that come with it. You also have to sit with the child and read the words on the tv as they are coming up. The word games are great to play with your child also. When doing it, make sure that you stress the word sounds and letter sounds. This seemed to work better than just having them watch the words pop up on the tv.



We didn't push our children to learn more than they could, or to be more advanced than they already are. Our girls are very inquisitive and curious and we just provided them with another tool to look at, learn and utilize. Some children are just not interested in it. That's fine. I think the program works for those that use it in conjunction with other playtime, interaction and reading. If you are considering using it to advance a child past the point where that child is comfortable, then this wouldn't work for you.



Some questions to ask: 1. Does my child love to look at books? 2. Do they like learning new things? 3. Are you pushing your child past the age appropriate tasks, or are they asking for them?



I think that each person should decide for themselves what is appropriate for their child according to that child's interests and requests. I, personally, love the program and used it for my 4 year old and am using it with my 2 year old. We don't follow the strict guidelines of being the only tv they see, and we make it fun. They love it too.



Hope that helps with your decision.

Amanda - posted on 04/02/2010

I've wondered about this myself. I have a 7 yrs old who was very advanced with speech and was reading at grade level 3 in kindergarten, now in 1st grade she reads @ 6th grade level. I taught her sign language as a baby and read to her all the time. I honestly think that combined is what is responsible for her vast vocabulary and reading ability. I have a 2 month old and instead of trying something new, we pulled back out the baby sign books and are gonna go that avenue.

Jessica - posted on 04/02/2010

My husband and I were thinking about doing this aswell...so we did some research. Although it doesn't hurt your child to have them on this program...there is no REAL reading that they do. From our research, the children are just memorizing associations (picture of a dog with the image they get for the letters for dog) - they are not really reading the words...just memorizing. This program does offer some other help - like phonics - but the money you spend on this is NOT worth it. My dd is 18 months and I read to her ALL day long - she is constantly bringing me books to read and I don't just read them to her, I ask her to find things in the pictures and to point out words. Because of this she will open books up by herself and "read" them and point out things she sees in the pictures. We also use flash cards that help with recognizing letters and words...just start with a few and eventually you can build on them. But NO...the Read Program is a waste!!!

Amanda - posted on 04/02/2010

i have got that program for my 22 mos old son (when i got he was 20 mos) and he is showing great progress he knows what the words i show him are and he will sit and read a book to me (well some words of sesame street and thomas the train books) but he has been on that for only 2 mos and he is showing good progress i recommend it to anybody who would like to use it..but also you the parent will have to be patient the child will not pick up on it right away u will have to show him dvd over and over and go through the words with him/her

Stormy - posted on 04/02/2010

IT IS AMAZING. one day last week, me my husband and our daughter were going into a store, she saw the word 'ice' knew it and said it, she is a year and 3 months (all most 2).

Julia - posted on 04/02/2010

I did not buy any product, but my daughter was reading before she was 2. She said "baby" clear as day at 9 months and her first sentence, "that's daddy's car," three days before her first birthday. I never pushed her... but I read to her about two hours a day and reading was one of her favorite activities. She's 10 now and still reads 2+ hours a day, and tests seven years ahead in reading ability (and is an honors student).



You can't push kids to learn, and IMO, buying stuff is no substitute for spending time with your kids, LOTS of time, and not just zoned-out in front of the TV, but doing things, especially reading, and talking together.



My son is almost two and he also loves reading time but is not as advanced as his sister. On the other hand, he is doing physical things that our pediatrician says many four-year olds struggle with (and that my daughter didn't do until she was 3.5 or 4). Every child has their strengths; our job as parents (again, IMO) is to recognize their strengths and to encourage them to develop ALL of their abilities.



Reading well is one of the most important skills a child can learn... and I think a parent serves their child by modeling good reading skills and habits, and by reading to the child often so that they hear extensive vocabulary from a very early age. Products are never as important as time and effort. :-)



By the way, my daughter didn't watch TV until she was 3, and my son still has not watched TV. I watch less than two hours of TV a week. We spend the time reading, running around, and playing board and card games instead, and I think we're better off for it (not to mention the money we save!)

Angela - posted on 04/02/2010

I have also wondered about this program, so I asked my own father what he thought about it. According to my parents, i was reading by age 4. My dad's reasoning behind this was because they always read to us as kids. When they would read to us before bedtime, we recognized the words and pictures, and put them together. Keep in mind this was over 20 years ago.
So personally, I think reading to your baby/child is the best bet. Every child learns at their own pace, and if you keep reading a constant routine, they will easily pick it up:)

Angela - posted on 04/02/2010

i got the dvd's and we started to watch them. i loved the idea to start with but to be honest we didn't get very far as your supposed to watch them everyday and have no other tv for the kids. doesn't really work in our house at the moment. havin said that my son (2yrs) is really into his books now and is trying to read them on his own. we may start to watch them again although there will be other tv time too on occasion. let you know how we get on.

Brittany - posted on 04/02/2010

I bought your baby can read for my daughter this past christmas (she was around 19 months). I paid over $400 for the whole kit that included little books, videos and flash cards. I turned on the first video and it is not like the "educational" tv shows you see today. its just pictures and words. Memorization. Thats totally fine, I get it and do believe it can work. But this really, in my opinion has to be started at the earliest possible age to see dramatic results. My daughter looses interest before the dvd is even over. (but if it were baby first tv, she could watch it for hours). I think its a good product, but I think your daughter is too old to start (she would be reading on level at the normal age anyway, because of the progression of the dvds). I think you should save your money, and not kick yourself in the butt later like I'm doing. Spend the $450 on books that she finds interesting and you will create a better bond between you too, and feel like you spent your money wisely. Hope I could help save you a headache.

Myeisha - posted on 04/02/2010

It depends on your child and the time you invest into the program. I ordered the trial for 15 bucks. I would do that first to see how it goes. My daughter is 9 months and shes a complete busy body. She just started walking so shes not trying to sit down and watch it. So I have to sit her in my lap and try to keep her attention on videos. I think she has not really understood the relations of the words vs action (she more of an action chick lol). But im in the beginning stage of the trial. So I would at least attempt it, because I think if you invest the time it will be good. Another thing that I think works better is if there is something in your community where there is interaction with peers she will do well. At our local library we have BabyTalk sessions for ages 0-21months. They play w/ toys, have sing alongs, and read with parents and children. Its once a week and for only an hour. This works good for me, because I work and fighting her in the morning to watch my baby can read is hard, but Im still working hard at it.

Sally - posted on 04/02/2010

Well, I enjoy the tv series "Penn & Teller: Bull****" and they did an episode on baby products like that. They had the guy who made the my baby can read books hang out with some kids that had been using the product for a couple years, and basically, the kids didn't know squat. All the baby einstein stuff... all the baby stuff you see, plays on parents yearning to have smart kids and to do the best by their kid. They prey on parents that are looking for answers.
I'm sure there is a lot you can do to ensure your kid will be smart, but investing a bunch of money into these systems probably isn't necessary. Read to your child everyday with the books you have.

Rebecca - posted on 04/02/2010

I started using Your Baby Can Read and I find that with the recommended usage and no other T.V my son has already started recognising words like GORILLA, TIGER and MOUTH. He has only been using it for 10 days and he has never said these words or heard them before the videos.

Reading is a language that should be learnt from 3 months. go to www.yourbabycanread.com.au and check out some of the youtube vids of children reading.

From what I understand babies start out just memorising words before they figure out the pattern of spelling and the language all by them selves. Then they can read words they have never seen before. They can't do that after about 4-5 years old. After 5 years old they need to be taught a different way.

Rosa Lee - posted on 04/01/2010

Get it! It's FANTASTIC. What do you mean your daughter won't use? It's not your daughter that will be using it, it will be Y-O-U that will be using it to teach her how to read. She will read at an early age, and the more you give her in time with this tool, the faster she will utilize her speech. It's an awesome gift to her, but you have to do it (better) while they are young. My friend started her baby at 3 mos old, and she is one years old, speaking VERY well. (not like a one year old) Children's minds are like sponges at this age. Up until they reach 5yrs old. Then they develope their own personality, and it's already there by this age. Try it, you will simply LOVE it, but don't invest in this Video Learning Course unless you have the time to spend teaching her.
Good Luck!

September - posted on 04/01/2010

No worries Andrea :) that's acually something I would do myself LOL!

Andrea - posted on 04/01/2010

And I apologize, September, I was talking to my sister, Stephanie, on the phone right before I posted and for some reason put her name down instead :)

Andrea - posted on 04/01/2010

Ladies, I realize that phonics is important ~ I taught first grade. I'm not saying it's not, but at an early age, teaching sight words is something to try. Phonics is definitely an integral part of reading, and that's the main reason my husband and I chose not to go with the Your Baby Can Read system. We'd rather take it slow and teach him the alphabet and letter sounds, too. I was just giving Christina some ideas on how to do a similar thing without spending the money. And I agree with Alison that kids should be kids and have fun ~ learning is part of that, whether it's playing with dolls or having a parent read aloud. We don't pressure our son to learn, he loves to do it :) If he didn't, we wouldn't force it.

September - posted on 04/01/2010

Yay Alison! :)

Alison - posted on 04/01/2010

I'm in agreement with September, that I see no need for my child to learn to read at this age. They've got plenty of time to do it. And I refuse to buy into a product that is designed to suck money out of parents pockets (ok, I suppose that is my perception, but not necessarily true). My 2 year old has so much fun playing with her dolls and using her imagination. I vote we let kids be kids.

September - posted on 04/01/2010

Andrea, the name is September :) and there is a bit more to reading than just memorization, there is phonics as well which is just as important. My mother in law is a kindergarten teacher so I know it's not just all about memorization. :) however I do agree that there is absolutely nothing wrong with teaching a child to read starting at an early age, I just think that using "my baby can read" is not the best tool to do so.

Loretta - posted on 04/01/2010

My son started watching the videos at 6 months (he is currently 14 months) and he now says 10 or so words and also acts out all the motions for songs on the videos. He loves watching them and personally I would recommend them. We also read alot in our house so that could play a huge role in his vocabulary skills as well. I don't see any harm in them.

Heather - posted on 04/01/2010

umm actually andrea, just fyi, in school kids are taught to sound out words... there are a few sight words that they do learn first, but then they teach them to sound them out.

Jen - posted on 04/01/2010

why not buy some books n read them with ur child there are lots out there especially to help wid talking n reading n i brought one recentley n it has big pictures n big buttons my boy loves loves pushing the buttons n hearing the words he learnt two words in one day

Andrea - posted on 04/01/2010

I agree with Stephanie that too much tv is bad for vocabulary development. I saw a study that showed kids between the age of 6 months and 3 years lose an average of 5-7 vocabulary words for EVERY HOUR of tv they watch. Enough to make me turn it off :) However, I don't think it's a bad thing to teach your kid to read at an early age. We're teaching our 7 month old how to read and do sign language. And what is reading but memorization? You don't look at each word and sound out letters because most of our vocabulary is sight words. Language starts at birth, and a critical reading age is between 2 and 5 years old - which a lot of kids miss because they get nothing until kindergarten. They still come out just fine, but why not get your kids reading in a fun way before it becomes work at school? My suggestion: don't spend all the money, but just write words on notecards and show them pictures, or buy some cheap flashcards with words and pictures on them. Baby sign language is also great, and so easy! Try what you can, if the kid doesn't like it, don't force it, but she probably will because toddlers are so curious :)



~Andrea

www.MomVentureOut.com

September - posted on 04/01/2010

In my opinion what's the rush? It's all just memorization anyhow which will not benefit your child's reading skills in the long run. Just another way for a company to make a buck! I feel that a child should be able to develop on their own time and not be sat in front of a tv in order to learn. My husband and I send lots of one on one time with our son reading, singing, dancing, listening to music, playing, enjoying the outdoors and at 17 months our son has an unusually large vocabulary. Our son's tv time is very limited as I feel it's actually a disservice to such a young child. Plus you can save the money and make your own flash cards which would be a fun little craft for the both of you to enjoy doing together.

Janel - posted on 04/01/2010

I just started my 10 month old son on it this very week. He already has shown signs that he is picking things up already. Seems to be working for us!! He loves watching it to, which is great, because it gives me a little break a few times a day!!

Gayla - posted on 04/01/2010

Im also interested but am a lil skeptical my Grandson are all three under 2 and if any one is using it please let us know what you think