Has anyone other used the "your baby can read" program. Do you think it works? How do show your child to read? Is it too young at 4 years of age? Do we just let them learn in school.
I don't know this program but I do know people who were early readers and in both cases they had parents who are teachers and older siblings that they watched learning to read. My almost 4 year old doesn't seem ready but some kids may be.
My best friend is a PT assistant for about 2 years now. She likes it but worked really hard in school (mostly with science classes and learning all the anatomy).
im a teacher, and when my first child was a toddler, everyone asked me if i was gonna teach him to read before he went to school. i said no way, i know my kid, and if he is bored in school, he will be in trouble, just like many other kids i taught over the years. im not saying this is the case with every kid, you know your kid better than anyone. why do they want babies to read anyway? i dont think it will do any harm, and if you are worried about him being able to keep up then maybe it would be a good supplement... though from what i hear it doesnt sound like it does much more than something you could do with a decent set of flash cards.... in any case, i think he is much much better served by you reading to him in a warm, loving, fun, happy way. imo, it is the single best tool you can give him for success in school.... the love of books and reading.
To add to the other posts, I read to my first child a lot, every night before bed and often throughout the day. She loved having me read to her and her favorite book was Green Eggs & Ham. I had to read it at least once a day. I read with a lot of expressions and we laughed a lot. Well soon she was talking and then she was saying the words with me. I thought how cute she has memorized the story. Then she was recognizing the same words in other books. She had taught herself to read!! How wonderful!!! NOT!!!! She was bored stiff in kindergarten and first grade. She really didnt enjoy school till 4th grade when they moved on to science and history.
Be very careful about rushing your child beyond their peers. Read to them, play with them, laugh with them and above all HUG them and they will be just fine.
I have a friend that purchased this program for her 10 month old and she said it is a complete waste of money. All it does is teach kids word recognition by repeating the word without any visuals of what the word represents.
The best thing is to read to your child, a great bonding expierence for both of you. I've read to my 20 month old since he was born and he loves reading books.
First off, You might be able to find it at your local library or ebay, etc.,I started when my son was about 2. If your child doesn't learn to read from this video. He will at least know what a word is and learn left to right orientation. It is great for language development as well.
I found it a little boring but played them for a few months. My son is 4 now and can read some words. Some other good videos are Letter Factory, Talking Word Factory(rhyming and blending sounds into words-also teaching the concept that sounds make words, and important pre-reading skill)and Talking work factory 2, more advanced vowel combinations and digraphs(th,sh,ch,wh), and silent e. Meet the sight words 1,2,3 is very entertaining to my son. The words are animated and repeated over and over. My son guesses the sight words before they are said. You can also help your child write them on a magnadoodle or dry-erase board while they are presented. My best advise is to watch 1 video of Your Baby can read and see if it is something you will enjoy with your child. It is best if you sit with them, showing them how to point and repeat the word. I find it time consuming and you must show this video 1-2 times a day for it to work as it says in it's intro. Give the first video a try and see if you like it. Also, check ebay.
The program claims to be for up to 5 years old. We started using it with my son around 9 months or so. He's 18 months old now. He doesn't read like the kids in the commercials do. However, the videos keep him entertained & he does like to look at the books & word cards. He will often repeat what they are saying on the TV or will sometimes act it out (for ex: putting his arms up or waving). Unfortunately I have no experience with the program with older kids. I figured if I'm going to let him watch some TV, it seems like this is better than just cartoons.
I agree with the other moms. Just read to your child. I thought about that 'baby can read' thing and if it did work, you would have a bored child in 1st, 2nd grade that could lead to problems.
I just got it for Christmas for my now 16 month old daughter. We're just starting it, but so far she's watched the 1st video and loves the first book. I don't know that she's going to read at this age, but I feel like it's teaching her how to learn, so when she's ready to read, she'll have an easier time of it. We're starting off slow, but she seems to enjoy it and I love reading, so I figure, why not? (Especially since we got it as a gift and didn't have to spend all of that money) I think it's up to you. There's nothing wrong with not getting it. It is very expensive and as some mom's have said, they didn't like it. I think it is a good tool so far and my daughter seems to like it. The first video shows the word, repeats it twice, and then shows what that word represents. It's a good strategy, but I saw that some moms had suggestions of other videos to use, so it may be worthwhile to take a look at them first if they are cheaper.
My kids are grown and the wonderful days of reading aloud to them are over. Now I am an empty nest mom who happens to have re-entered the world of early childhood through a business venture. At 61 years of age I am selling hand made finger puppet sets (fair trade from Bolivia). My sales strategy has involved exhibitting at conferences for early childhood educators and primary school teachers. Over the past three years I have observed their reactions as they examine these colorful sets of animal puppets. It is through conversations with these professionals that I was introduced to the idea of "early literacy." So now I have a belief about what preschool children need.
The way I understand it,literacy is about language, the ability to communicate--whether it is through reading, writing or speaking. Whether you are talking with your child, teaching them vocabulary ("What is that?"), reading aloud to them, telling or making up stories, you are introducing them to language. This is a powerful tool. This allows them to express themselves, to ask for what they need, to tell their own stories and to interact with others...
I loved playing with my children when they were young. And now I love watching teachers, parents and children play with the finger puppets I sell. I also introduce parents to story books that they can use in conjunction with the puppets in order to make the book come alive on their fingers. I do this because professionals told me that the best way to get a child to love books is through play.
I think that giving a child the gift of literacy is much more important than teaching your preschool child how to READ. Structured reading seems so much like work,like pushing a child to be successful...This kind of puppet play and story telling is fun. I see it all the time! And, for me, that was the best part of being a mom.
If you are interested in seeing the finger puppet sets, check out my website www.craftsfrombolivia.com and look for the Kanagaroo and 3 Bags Full Finger Puppet Pouches.
Yes, you let them learn at school. There's no need for babies to read. Babies and young children should be read to, and given the opportunities to look at books. These programs may teach different strategies than whatever literacy program your child's future school uses. It doesn't benefit a child to come into kindergarten as a fluent reader (I work in an elementary school). The entire kindergarten curriculum is based on literacy and developing the children into readers. Kids who can already read aren't at an advantage, they are simply bored.
I think these at home reading programs are simply a way to get you to fork over money. Kids don't learn to read from watching videos. TV isn't even recommended for the age that these programs start at.
Read, read, read to you kids. Have plenty of books around. Show them you enjoy reading, help them to notice letters and words as they develop interest. Particularly if you are going back to school and/or employed outside the home, the time spent doing something with them (story time) will better prepare them to learn from school than drilling them at home.
I've posted on this before, so I'll stay off my soap box!
Just remember that these programs are intensive and do not replace every day activities and interactions. Also remember that they DO NOT promise school success. The effects of early word recognition programs (that's what this is, not "reading") will create a small "bump" usually until about first grade, when the rest of the kids "catch up".
The programs are expensive and there's no guarantee that your child will like it. See if you can find something on e-bay or craigslist for less $$$- my guess is that there are plenty of people out there looking to sell the ones they bought!
Read to your baby, narrate your day and label items in the environment.
Just let them learn in school. Frankly we bought it and it was a waste of money.
