Your Baby Can Read...what Do You Think?

M.,

As an early childhood educator I would say avoid this. This program encourages young children to sit in front of a tv to learn to read. There have been numerous studies done that show children do not learn language through any other source than other humans (in person) and some studies have shown that early exposure to tv may lead to attention problems later on. What this program is - is simple memorization - the babies are not REALLY reading. They do not understand the word or the context of it - they have simply memorized the shape of the word and pictures that go along with it. It is much better for them to be read to by a human and have lots of opportunity to look at books and interact with real people. Hope this helps in your decision.

Jennifer

My neighbours ordered it and we borrow the DVD's as they finish with them. I don't use the DVD as often as they recommend (I think it's twice a day) - just 2 times a week. My son was about 10 months when we started. He has always enjoyed watching them and has learnt several useful skills and says many more words than he normally would have. I don't care if he learns to read 'early', I just think it is a good additional educational tool (I am an early elementary teacher if this helps). I make sure I watch with him and do actions and say the words so that it becomes interactive, not just a stagnant t.v. watching time.
I would say 'go for it'. Why not.

Hi M.!!
My baby is six 1/2 months old and we started watching the videos a month ago and she loves them!!! Regardless of whether it will actually work, I don't know, but it keeps her attention. The videos are expensive so before I purchase them, and everything that comes with them, I have been checking them out of the library. I hope that helps. All I know is that my daughter loves to watch them and you can tell that she is taking it all in. My recomendation is to see if your library has them before you buy the kit and see if the children seem interested in them. The video is only 15 minutes long, so it isn't like they are spending the whole day watching tv. The program encourages people to still sit and read to the child. I think it is a great. On the first video the words "arms up" are used and when my daughter hears that, she raises her arms up and sees the words associated with that. I think the videos are great! Have a great weekend. K. M

We have it and have been using it with our two-year-old. He loves it! He can recognize words, sing along with the songs, and he's putting together sentences even better. I think that they present words and pictures a little too quickly, but my son doesn't seem to mind. He loves it! And since we've started that, he recognizes letters and sounds much better, too.