Your Baby Can Read--does It Work?

This program drills babies on the shapes of words, and if repeated often enough, and if the baby/toddler will stay in front of the screen long enough, little ones can sometimes learn a word as a visual pattern. This is NOT reading, has nothing to do with letter sounds or how to recognize phonetic combinations.

It can also take time and energy away from the child's primary mode of learning. Babies need play. Free play, exploratory play, pretend play, manipulative play, and more play. This is the baby's real "work." This is what allows the brain to develop properly.

If you want your baby to learn to read when (she?) is ready, read to her, enjoy reading yourself, and talk to her about everything in slow, clear sentences. Don't use baby talk. The single best predictor of a child's success in school is a big vocabulary and the ability to use language well.

I have heard several teachers comment that "My Baby Can Read" actually confuses kids when it's time to learn real reading. They can be resistant to giving up the simple, passive "memorization" approach, and therefor have trouble learning letter sounds and combinations.

Save your money!

10 moms found this helpful

I can think of MANY reasons Your Baby Shouldn't Read. I can only think of two reasons Your Baby CAN Read, parent ego rubbing and capitalism. Shame on the developers of this program.

8 moms found this helpful

as a teacher we have a lot of problems with children who can decode and memorize sight words but cannot comprehend, cannot discuss the story, cannot predict, cannot infer meaning, cannot answer higher order thinking. All of which begins in K and is expected in First. The parents don't understand why their child is being given books that they think are too easy -because we have to go back to easier books to teach them the above skills. So whenever you decide to teach your child to memorize words, make sure you are discussing what they have read and always keep comprehension in mind. Of course they have to have some life experiences to help them understand the stories. so start trying to get ahead of other parents on language expression and exposure to life experiences. (that means it's more important to read to them and talk and sing to them and take them to the farm and zoo etc)

7 moms found this helpful

There was a question like this a few weeks ago.
If I have the time, I may try to find the answers to that one.
Why do you want to try to get your baby to read?
Let your baby go through the normal stages of development.
There are lots of things that happen before young children begin reading.
They NEED to go through these stages first.
READ TO your child.
Point at pictures, name the item in the picture.
Later on, point and don't say the name.
Baby will say the name.
Etc.
Also, sing songs and play rhyming games w/baby.
Baby will imitate you.
Have fun!

5 moms found this helpful

I looked into this a couple of years ago and was told by teachers not to buy, its a waste of money and they teachers have to re teach your child to read when they get into school.

5 moms found this helpful

No. Nearly 100% of babies can't read. Babies who can read, don't need a prgram, becasue they are incredibly gifted once in a million children. Don't try to get a jump on development because development is linear, and you have no idea what your baby will miss that they are supposed to learn first if you work on reading instead of letting them develop langague the way their brains are hard wired to do it.

Read to your baby, Talk to your baby, sing to your baby, let your baby see you read. For now, that is all you need to do.

The person who developed this program uses really deceptive advertising, they note that the developer wrote books, but they have zero to do with reading, children, or children's reading. They have a lousy rep with the BBB too.

You have everything you need, and it is free!

M.

If I could send Riley 400 flowers, I would!

5 moms found this helpful

These don't teach your baby to 'read'. They teach the baby to memorize the shape of the words. Personally I wouldn't waste my money on these. Plus, it's much better for your baby to sit and read with you :)

5 moms found this helpful

I think Peg M. said it perfectly. This product is not going to teach your baby to read, and why in the world would he/she need to? Save your money.

4 moms found this helpful

There have been several posts about this system on here.
many teachers are against this program and have said that kids that "learn" to read with this system have to be retaught to read. It's pure memorization no phonetic sounds, or actual reading is involved.

4 moms found this helpful

they did something on the today show about this. they said it was bogus. it basically teaches your kid to memorize not read.

3 moms found this helpful

The guy who invented this doesn't even have a degree in education.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/39953918/ns/today-money/

Plus loads of complaints:

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/online/yourbabycanread.html

Read to your child, get them flash cards.....do it the old fashioned way, it's the way that works.

3 moms found this helpful

I just saw a report on TV done on this and apparently there are no studies to show this works.

BUYER BEWARE.

(:

3 moms found this helpful

I got the starter disc and was very gung ho on it until I realized it was just teaching your child to memorize the words. It's basically a bunch of flash cards with pictures and the words on it for a few hundred dollars. I think the dvds that come with it are no better than sesame street or some of the shows on nick jr. Like others have said there is alot of controversy on wether it actually harms the childrens ability to learn to read since it is basically just a big game of memory. Look up some of the reviews that aren't on the baby can read web site and they really do shed more light on the pros and cons. I personally think it's better to just sit and read to your child.

2 moms found this helpful

We didn't buy the YBCRead, but my 2.5 yr old does know a lot of his sight words already. I base that b/c of the following that we do/watch:
- visit the library weekly
- read books daily
- watch Between the Lions on PBS
- watch Super Why on PBS
- **Watch Meet the Letters, Meet the Sight Words, Meet the Numbers ..... all from www.preschoolprepco.com We rent them for free from our library. I dont know how much they cost but my son loves them. Meet the letters is for kids as early as 5 months I believe. Meet the Sight Words is for kids as early as 16 months.

2 moms found this helpful

I taught my boys to read quite early by using good old fashioned phonics! No sight words-they are just memorization. And by the time my kids were in first grade, while the other kids were memorizing 5 little "sight" words at a time, mine could read all the sight words available up to grade 5 because they could SOUND THEM OUT!!

How to do it:
-Buy the Leapster Talking Words Factory DVD and refrigerator toys and the games-can't say enough about how good these are to teach and enforce letter sounds
-Talk about ABCs when you can and what sound they make-the tub is a great place to do this. Use the tub crayons to write on the wall.
-once they know the letter sounds make small words with the sounds. Then blends. This is fun on the tub wall too. And with magnet letters.

And of course-read to them ALL THE TIME!!! And don't ever dumb down your words or language to them b/c they are kids. My boys have amazing vocabularies b/c I have always spoke with them in adult talk.

Lastly-if you really want your child to read you have got to make it fun. Nothing will turn off a kid more than having it be a drag...and the last thing you want to do is to turn your child off of reading.

Oh yeah-and NO to the Your BAby Can Read :-)

2 moms found this helpful

i vehemently agree with 99% of the posts on here. but they have said it all. DON'T BUY IT.

1 mom found this helpful

Read, read, read to your baby and start using your own flash cards... dont buy the crapola. The flashcards my DIL bought have a picture on one side and the word on the other. My 2 and half yr old granddaughter is reading on her own now--- and writing too... sorry, I just had to brag a tiny bit ;)

They did a segment on it on the Today Show last week. Here is the link. http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/39953918/
They talked to the inventor of it and more or less stated it was a scam to pray on mother's that feel their children are falling behind on learning. The program they stated range from $200-400 and many parents were trying to get their money back. It was an entire series based on sitting your baby in front of a computer or tv for hours combined with flash cards.

they stated as with any child, the child learns by memorization and that each child needs to learn in their own time frame. Also that the inventor's creditials were not within what he stated. More or less. You'll do fine teaching your child on your own like all mothers have done and are doing. We repeat everything to them, cup, water, potty etc. Just buy some flash cards or make your own and continue to read to your child.

Buying "Einstein Never Used Flashcards" (or borrowing it free from your library!) is a MUCH better use of your time. There are hundreds of studies out there that show the best way for a young child to learn and excel in school and in life is through unstructured free play with 'open-ended' toys like blocks, balls, cars, buckets, etc. This book does an excellent job of condensing results and showing individual results of certain studies to back all this up.

Does it teach your child to read? No! Or yes. Or maybe. It depends on your defination of "read". Most teachers and other educators agree it does not teach your child to teach. It teaches them to associate a pattern of lines/squiggles/circles with a certain word. This is a small fraction of what is involved with reading (think of 'sight words' every kindergartener needs to learn). In order to be truly reading, you need to know the letter names/sounds, the vocabulary of the word, the phonics to sound out the words, the laws of silent letters, etc.

Remember that pretty much every study out there shows that most (over 98%) of 'early readers' (that's defined as reading before age 5) are indistinquishable from their peers by 3rd grade. That is because most true reading skills are very developmental and most kids are not developmentally reading for 'true' reading until age 5-6 years old.

The program is a scam. It encourages you to sit your baby in front of a tv to memorize sight words! You should be playing with your baby and reading to your baby every day. Do fun things. Go to the park. Go visit a museum. Do something, but don't sit your baby in front of a tv in order to stuff words into his/her brain.

Why does your baby need to read anyway? Just wondering.

I use the program, along with a phonics program for my children. Too early to know if it works-my 2.5 yr old is bored with it, while my 6 month old loves it. I was able to read fluently-the bible at the age of 3. I would never want to keep the gift of reading from your child because u may have to answer more questions sooner.

Don't waste your money. Invest in good books and books on tape for your kids. You can even borrow from the library with out having to buy anything. Your child though would rather hear your voice.