Your Baby Can Read?? - Lake Charles,LA

I tried it with my now 3 year old. I quit because It was SOOO boring. (I felt like my brain was going to explode after about 10 minutes- boring) The only part she really liked was the singing.

Yes she learned a few words: Baby, clap, elephant... which she promptly forgot after we stopped watching YBCR/ She never could pick up a new book and start reading it.

Now she is 3 and is well on her way to reading FOR REAL! Yippee! She has learned all of her alphabet with simple flashcards, and a little help from the preschool prep series. She is starting to learn phonics (yay starfall), and is old enough to understand the letters have sounds and the sounds put together make words and that text has meaning. I think early reading is a valuable (and attainable) skill... but phonics is probably the way to go... with SOME sight words. you cant teach phonics until they are old enough to understand 3 things - 1. text has meaning... 2. letters make sounds... 3. letters together make words... I think you have to be at least a toddler to truly read.

Even so, I have got to say the videos of babies "reading" are incredible... I just think that if you stop using YCBR all that "reading" dissapears because it isn't meaningful/useful to them until they are older.

-M.

The kiddies don't even like the video. I had some clients that were trying it so they sent the DVD to my house, it is soooooooo boring!!

I have not tried it, but I do know that they are not learning to "read" in the traditional sense. They are memorizing the word as a picture, they don't recognize that it is individual letters/sounds grouped together to form a new word/sound. When they see the word "clap" and it is followed by someone clapping (over and over and over again), they will be able to remember this "picture" of the word "clap" and perform the action that goes with it. But I bet if they memorized it in lower case and you showed them the upper case version or a very different font they would not clap, because the word doesn't look the same.Therefore they are not really reading. And they will not be able to extrapolate that is you change the "c" to an "s" it will be "slap", like they can if you teach with phonics. I am pretty sure most experts agree it is worthless and pointless. It is not a skill they need or could really use at age 1, so why bother? I had very good success teaching my children to read at age 3 1/2-4 using "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons", they are wonderful, avid readers now. I would say invest your money elsewhere.

I've known a couple of moms who tried it briefly, but didn't like parking their babies in front of the screen for long periods of time. Babies don't actually learn to read in the sense of being able to sound out words. Some babies, with enough exposure, apparently do learn to recognize words by sight, as a shape they have memorized. I watched my grandson doing the same thing between ages 1 and 2 when he learned to recognize the names of stores he would see often.

Arguments against:

There is little lasting value in learning shapes, except for the fact that this is what babies' brains do during that phase of development and they will do it anyway, without an expensive program.

Kids who are led to believe that this is what reading is can be puzzled and frustrated when actual phonetics are introduced. Early elementary teachers complain that kids who have learned to read by word shapes can be resistant to learning the sounds of individual letters and letter combinations, thus slowing down learning to actually read.

This is an inappropriate activity for the developing brain. The natural play that children engage in gives them the kinds of stimulus that the brain can actually incorporate and build upon for good, normal, well-balanced development. Requiring a child to sit in front of a tv screen takes away time for physical play, which improves motor skills and body-brain connections, important at this age.

Language development actually happens best when face to face with real people. Even watching talking faces on a screen does not help babies learn language.

Considering all of the above, getting a baby to read early is a bragging point, but not really in the child's best interest. Some children will read early, some won't. Some children will learn to forge relationships early, and some won't. Some children will show physical, verbal, musical, or artistic skills early, and some won't. Some children will be very slow to develop in all areas. But all will become their best selves if parents encourage and support the children they actually have, and not some idealized picture of a "superior" child who can do all things well at an early age.

I think the funniest side effect is the child knows that a bunch of grapes in a picture are grapes but show them actually grapes and they haven't a clue what they are looking at.

That and really short circuiting the natural learning process isn't a good idea.

I guess I look at it as you can teach a cat to pee in the toilet but has he learned that is what the toilet if for or trained to do what pleases us?

If you don't get that statement I don't consider it learning but a trained response.

Good grief! Wasn't trying to be snotty!
I've read many of those responses, many from teachers and they usually agree it is not good.
Here: http://www.mamapedia.com/search?query=your+baby+can+read

I have not used it but I agree with Riley J. My son was about 4 when he basicly thought himself to read. I didn't read much to him but my mom did when he was really little. I had to be really careful when I took him through down town Dallas. All the billboards. That's when I figured out he could read. Its interesting how make up quickly what a gentlman's club is. When he was in grade K his teacher said you could give him a wall street journal and he would be able to read it to you. Don't rush them. They will learn when they are ready.

Marketing Marketing Marketing.
To parents. Which is a huge, market and they spend on things like this.
And, it is residual income, for the producers of it or the "experts" that attach their name to it.
Stakeholders.

At a marginal occurrence, the baby examples on the video do "read."
It is by repetition or rather, repeating. NOT discerning words/sounds/phonics/letter combinations.
It is by repetition/rote recognition. Maybe if that if anything.
And at this age, well, they forget too.

It encourages you to sit your baby in front of a tv to watch videos with words for hours on end. Honestly, do you think that's a good thing for any baby? There are lots more fun things to do -- like actually reading to your child -- that would do more good.

It's an expensive waste of time. I have a friend who bought it and was appalled how much time was to be spent in front of a tv.

Teachers I know are also against it. You know those reviews on Amazon that one mom said were all good..... well those can be stacked you know. If the company has enough employees who will use every e-mail address they have to write a good review -- and continue to do so -- the good reviews will outnumber the bad. It's a tactic booksellers use all the time.

Also, check out all the posts on here on the subject. Mostly all negative:
http://www.mamapedia.com/search?query=your+baby+can+read

It doesn't actually TEACH anything.

Besides a toddlers purpose on this earth, should only require being a child. We don't need young ones to read. Especially, when it doesn't help their educational growth in the long run.

The Today Show did a whole segment on it not too long ago and concluded it was pretty much a scam. They interviewed a bunch of experts who all said your $ would be better spent on buying books and reading to your child. I'd suggest either a Tag Jr. Pen and books or the Leapfrog Word Factory DVD.

I bought it for my daughter, but did not use it the way that the infomercials tell you to use it. I am a teacher (5 years experience) and can tell you that this is just a resource for you to use. I play games with my daughter using the flash cards and watch the videos just for fun. I have also found pictures to put with the flash cards for her to recognize the words. I did not follow their timeline either. My daughter can recognize and pronounce these words and spell most of them, but it is all a game to her and she loves it. I also have other flash cards and other educational items for her, but I can't stress enough that it has to be fun. My daughter is in pre-k this year and reading simple sentences and enjoys it. She is not one of those kids who sits in the house all day reading, she loves to be playing outside, painting, doing arts and crafts and all the other things that 4 year olds do. Whatever you decide to do regardless if you use Your Baby Can Read, just make it fun and everything will fall into place.

Hm...most of the reviews from purchasers on Amazon say it's fabulous.

If I had a baby, I'd be willing to try it.

Pssst: Emily, your response was kind of snotty. Just sayin'. Also, a lot of those responses...from people who haven't bought it or, if they did, didn't use it according to the directions.

Your Baby Can Read is a wonderful program if your expectations are reasonable. We all read by sight, that is how our brains work thus sight words give quick success. Children and adults fall back on PLAN B when they do not know a word by sight; that is why children need to learn phonetics. With that in mind, early reads can get a jump start on reading with the knowledge of sight words. Children and adults do suffer from the use it or loose it issue which means they must see or use the words often (in print) or yes, they will forget what they have learned. A DVD is not the same as a teacher but this and other programs are great as a teaching tool.

it's a waste of money - just read to your baby.

I have it and I like it! My children have not learned to read as I don't allow them tons of tv time, but during the day after lunch while I clean up It's nice to have something educational on the tv. They love the songs and my one year old loves seeing the other children and animals. They get excited about it so to me that is Win. They dont watch it every day, but they have learned things from it for sure.

Don't do it! No one is going to care if your baby has "Learned to read at 12 mos" on her resume when she applies for a job.