"Baby Can Read" Video for Babies & Toddlers

My question is, why would "your baby need to 'read'?" I was a teacher before staying home with my children and I recognize these parents. . .the same who would give their fourth graders adult books they could "read" (but not understand) just so they could brag about their kids' reading ability. Read with your kids, which will not only help them to read, but also give them quiet time with you and you've done more for them than getting them to memorize words. Not criticizing you--just hate that the current trend toward overachieving kids is now trickling down to babies and am disgusted with the people preying on parents to make money from this program.

Dear MOM,

In theory it would definately work,

BUT you can save yourself the money and simply buy some flash cars, and read to her daily.

For 25 dollars you can buy toddler beginning readers books from Barnes and nobles. and a prek activity book for your 3 year old.

This is what I have done for my boys and its working out great.

I have also bought How to teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons, All the reviews are great , I will share the results later.

Also I bout FLASKIDS Beginning readers, A matching Game

and Flashkids, Numbers fun board game.

My boys love these. I originally though they would be too advanced for them, BUT its not. ( $6.95 each)

I am also gonna try another book set
suggested by Michelle Duggar, LOL
http://www.amazon.com/can-read-Curriculum-comprehensive-p...

We'll see how it works

M

i bought baby can read for my 18 mo , they suggest she look at it twice a day, she bearly can sit through it once, as far as memorizing words when your child goes to school they have to memorize the 200 sight words

Hi Y.,
Babies don't need to read. They dont' need to watch videos teaching them to read. They need to interact with people and explore their environment. I work in an elementary school and it's not beneficial for kids to come in reading. The whole kindergarten and much of the first grade curriculum is designed to teach literacy, so kids who can already read may be very bored ... or may have picked up certain habits which are not in conjunction with their school's reading program and they may need to re-learn what they already know.
Good luck!

I bought this book for my daughter. "Teach Your Child to Read in Just Ten Minutes a Day"
by Sidney Ledson

http://www.amazon.com/Teach-Your-Child-Read-Minutes/dp/14...

This is a simple phonics system for toddlers that makes a lot of sense. I keep it fun and at 3 she can read simple words.

Dear Y. - not to press this point too hard. But I would say that in fact it is detrimental to have your baby start reading. They are developmentally not there at all. Babies need to do what babies do - explore their physical space, listen to their mother's breathing, singingtell them stories, let them put things in their mouths, feel textures, and move , move move.That is what a baby and then toddler is about. This premature impulse for them to become intellectual is a very strange direction that corpororate america has pushed on schools - reading in kindergarden and hence parents think that their children will "get ahead" if they teach them super early. It does not bode well, for our children. Take your kids out in nature if you can. A park at least. put away the video and electronics. And the longer you keep them away from it, the more they will be able to have a childhood, developing their senses in a way that is our birth right and does not cost any money. Time and intention is mostly what it takes. Happy mothering. C.

This topic has come up a few times...my feeling is, save your money. Your child will learn plenty simply by reading to them daily.
Lynsey

I have the "Your Baby Can Read" dvds. I bought it as an extra activity to fill the 10hr days alone with my son. He started at around 19 months old (I think on the late side for this program). My son is very active and is more interested in playing with his toys most of the time but still, I have to say it has been helpful. He's not as interested in doing the flashcards anymore but still seems to retain a lot of the words learned from the video. Not just CUP and CAT but words like CHIMPANZEE. I'm not diligent about showing the videos/flashcards but I don't think these kinds of aids will hurt them, as long as you use it more as an activity tool rather than a forced teaching.

There's a free online learning tool that I can completely recommend. Starfall.com. It teaches the alphabet through words, sound, music (very entertaining for the little ones). My son really ENJOYS it. He asks to go on the site at least twice a day. Now I ask him to choose a letter and he shouts it out in delight. I get tired before he does (going through so many letters)! He can "read"(has memorized) ALL the words that come with each letter now. It's only been a couple of months.

My son just turned 22 mos old and his vocabulary has increased tremendously. He can already say some full sentences and can repeat everything I say. I know many parents are in a hurry to teach their children to read but I'm more excited about my child speaking and communicating with me and others at this stage.

Please let me know how it goes with Starfall.com. I'm really interested to know if other children take to it as much as mine did.

By the way, my son LOVES books, too. We plow through around 10 a day. This is at his request! I actually get really tired but keep at it since it is what he enjoys.

Best,

I wouldn't waste the money. Children do learn to read first by memorizing. (I was a first grade teacher for 10 yrs before I became a SAHM) I have never used the Baby Can Read program but I have seen the commercials and it seems a little silly to me. :) It seems like you would get the same results by just reading with your kids. My daughter is almost 15 months and already can't get enough books. There are days when I feel like I might lose my mind if I have to read Dora's Day at the beach one more time!!! HA! But it's how she'll learn language and how to read. A fun thing to do with your 3 yo is label things around your house. Things that she can name (like chairs, bed, table) Make sure you do it together though! Use notecards and write the words in bright colors and then read them together. Leave them up for a while. You'll be amazed at how excited kids get when they can read the cards! You could also have your 3 yo draw pictures to match the words. Then before you know it your 11 month old will be "reading" too. And that's really all it takes to get them excited about reading. Good luck!!