OT: Anyone use "Your Baby Can Read"?

[Mommy2JulietJocelyn]

I happen to see an infomercial about this early this morning at work - has anyone used it? Did it work for you? did you notice a difference?

 

[lucigo]

How old is your child? I haven't seen this but honestly I wouldn't worry about teaching your baby to read. Children develop in a pretty set pattern, and social interaction and physical development are higher on their priority list than reading. This is assuming you have a normotypical child. I have a hyperlexic child who could read before he could talk, but thats a completely different story.

 

[RMulieri]

My neighbor bought it. She said it is a rip off.

 

[wehavesix]

I agree with the pp in that children develop in pretty consistant and predictable patterns. There is no reason to tinker with that development as long as it is progressing normally. What is best for very young children is for caring adults to play with them, read to them, talk to and with them, and give them a multitude of experiences. Take them to many places and discuss what they are seeing, hearing, touching, and tasting. Help develop social/emotional skills such as sharing and empathy for the feelings of others. Develop print awareness by pointing out letters in books and in environment such as street signs, cereal boxes, store signs, etc. Most of all talk to and encourage your child to talk about everything. Good vocabulary and language skills coupled with print awareness and a love of books almost always lead to good readers. That's assuming there are no developmental or learning problems that would create obstacles. But even obstacles can usually be overcome.

I am speaking as a mom to 6 excellent readers; 4 of whom were adopted from less than wonderful early childhood experiences. If that's not enough, I am also a 22 year veteran teacher of pre-k and k children with a MS in Early Childhood Education. Most of these programs promising to make your baby read are not worth a cent. Don't waste your money. The library is free. Your lap and time spent with your child in it while you read together and talk are priceless and free.

 

[dancin'girl]

Never tried it, but my FIL wanted to get this for DS for Christmas, so I looked into it on-line and saw that it would end up costing about $180 after all the pay installments were made! FIL was disappointed, but I thought it was too expensive and unnecessary for a 1 year old. I wasn't sure if DS would even watch it! There are many great shows on PBS that teach letters and letter sounds. Check out Word World and Super Why.

 

[kgle]

I wouldn't even waste my money on it...as long as the child is following normal growth and development they will learn how to read and it won't really cost you a thing I say let babies be babies. No sense in making them grow up any faster!

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

I think the whole concept is stupid and wouldn't waste a cent on it. I'm the mother of four readers (oh, okay, DS turns 3 this week and isn't reading yet!). I think the focus is all wrong. It's not about getting kids to read early--it's about a lifetime love of books. At least that was always my goal. You want them to feel that comforting feeling of curling up with a good book--on a lap when they're little, on their own later on.

As it happens, my 3 older kids were all reading well before the started K. I did work with #2, because we were told he would have difficulty learning to read. The other two, we just read to them a lot, talked about letters and sounds, etc. as part of our normal day. They love going to the library, and even the youngest likes spotting letters in the grocery store. Songs and music also develop language skills.

Seriously, I think any program that claims to improve your child's development is silly. There is so much you can do as a parent just in your regular routine, that help your child--counting cans as you shop, spotting colors while taking a walk. Nobody "needs" a special system to get a child learning!

 

[DISNEYNV]

I have seen this commercial and honestly find it a bit disturbing! I think that if a young child picks up the ability to read at a very young age that is a wonderful gift, but to have an expectation for a baby to read before he/she is developmentally ready is just not right. Just my personal opinion.

If they show a visible interest or gift than I would encourage it, other than that just read to your child everyday! They will pick it up at a normal pace and benefit from the closeness and bonding time that is more important in the long run than memorization techniques can teach.

 

[lil mermaid]

I think the whole concept is stupid and wouldn't waste a cent on it. I'm the mother of four readers (oh, okay, DS turns 3 this week and isn't reading yet!). I think the focus is all wrong. It's not about getting kids to read early--it's about a lifetime love of books. At least that was always my goal. You want them to feel that comforting feeling of curling up with a good book--on a lap when they're little, on their own later on.

As it happens, my 3 older kids were all reading well before the started K. I did work with #2, because we were told he would have difficulty learning to read. The other two, we just read to them a lot, talked about letters and sounds, etc. as part of our normal day. They love going to the library, and even the youngest likes spotting letters in the grocery store. Songs and music also develop language skills.

Seriously, I think any program that claims to improve your child's development is silly. There is so much you can do as a parent just in your regular routine, that help your child--counting cans as you shop, spotting colors while taking a walk. Nobody "needs" a special system to get a child learning!

I agree with this statement, as well as with the poster who found the commercial somewhat disturbing.

Just read to your child, every day. Do the best you can to cultivate a love of reading and books in your child. The rest will take care of itself!