The teach your baby to read ads....

[okeydokey]

These ads drive me crazy. Even if you could teach a 9 month old to read, why would you? My kids are watching Spongebob and at every break they are pushing this reading program for infants.

 

[M5ward]

I agree 100%...kids get too little time today to just be kids!!

 

[Shyvioletisme]

I learned to read REALLY young...it was the best thing in the world!

 

[happygirl]

I learned to read REALLY young...it was the best thing in the world!

I just think kids should remain kids as long as they can.

 

[chell]

When I was 3 I knew how to read. Didn't get me anywhere extra in life though.

Those commercials get on my nerves.

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

When I was 3 I knew how to read. Didn't get me anywhere extra in life though.

Those commercials get on my nerves.

Same here. My older sister (who is now a teacher) made it her pet project to get me reading. I don't see how reading at age 3 really made much of a difference in my life.

I agree - let them be babies and kids as long as they can.

 

[scottishduffy]

I imagine this is more about Mom having bragging rights on the playground, than it is about the child. Can you imagine the smug super-moms talking about their 18 month old reading?

I was a Nanny and the younger of my girls could read at 2 1/2 (her older sister taught her). Sure, when she was very little she looked very clever. By second grade she had levelled out and was just like all the other kids. Sometimes early reading comes across as a parlor trick. If you invest that much time into it you can have them read early, but really WHY? In the long run they are still the same kid.

 

[englishteacha]

As someone who was reading at age 2.5, I think I still got a childhood. My childhood was enriched with lots of books! I didn't watch much TV, didn't play video games, but I read a lot. I played a lot, too, but reading was a large part of my childhood. I learned to read just by being read to a lot. I don't think you need anything special...just take time to read to and with your kids!

 

[HelenePA]

I dont know how they are trying to teach 9 months old to read. I can't keep my 8 month old sitting long enough to even read him a short book and I sure has heck dont want him watching TV at 9 months old! That said my 6 yr old taught herself to read at about 2.5 from playing on starfall.com and closed caption on TV (no lie)

 

[C.Ann]

As someone who was reading at age 2.5, I think I still got a childhood. My childhood was enriched with lots of books! I didn't watch much TV, didn't play video games, but I read a lot. I played a lot, too, but reading was a large part of my childhood. I learned to read just by being read to a lot. I don't think you need anything special...just take time to read to and with your kids!

I learned how to read right around that age too - and it was the best thing that ever happened to me! That's when (and where) I developed my love of reading and it has stayed with me all through my life (soon to be 60)..

We didn't have "video" games and such when I was a kid and tv was reserved for a short time during the evening - usually "Father Knows Best" or something of that nature.. I always had a pile of books by my side for rainy days, when other kids couldn't come out to play, etc.. Never felt "alone" because I had my books to keep me company..

Still to this day my adult DD will chuckle when she sees me picking up the dictionary to read if I don't have anything else close by.. I remember going to visit my aunt in the hospital in Philadelphia (she was in ICU) and during the times we had to leave the room, I would sit and read the telephone book - LOL.. Pretty interesting - lots of "businesses" in Philly that we didn't have back home..

I don't think a child is ever too young to learn to read - if they're interested and not being forced to do it.. I started to teach my youngest DD to read when she was 18 months old.. At first she really enjoyed it, but then I could see she wasn't really interested in going any further with it so I stopped the sessions.. No big deal.. She retained what she learned up to that point and then just went on to continue to learn to read at the normal age..

To me it's really no different than exposing a very young child to anything else: dance; gymnastics; figure skating; whatever.. If they enjoy it, you continue - if they don't, you stop.. But if you never expose them to "anything", you may never know what their true passion is - or what they may end up excelling in..

 

[SandrA9810]

I think it's better that a kid learns to read by a parent reading to them. It's more of a bond than the actual learning.

Kari told me she would constantly have her g'mother read to her the Hobbit at like 2. And she still picks up anything and everything and reads it. She's really good at being book smart, but not too many other things in life.

 

[MarkFL]

I learned to read before I could even speak. My mother would write several words down on cards and would say a word and I'd crawl to the right one. By the time I could speak I could read words aloud. My mother didn't use a "program"; she just read to me all the time (moving my finger over the words she spoke).

 

[C.Ann]

I think it's better that a kid learns to read by a parent reading to them. It's more of a bond than the actual learning.
.

Do you think that once a child learns how to read, no one ever reads to them again? Or am I misunderstanding your post?

 

[Shyvioletisme]

I just think kids should remain kids as long as they can.

how is learning to read early taking away from being a kid??? Being young is about learning as well! Learning and playing can be the same thing.

 

[HelenePA]

how is learning to read early taking away from being a kid??? Being young is about learning as well! Learning and playing can be the same thing.

This program is geared towards infants only months old let them learn to walk play ball do baby stuff not learn to read at 6 months old watching videos on tv

 

[diznygirl]

How does reading earlier make you love reading more than a
child who learns to read in kindergarten? How does it help the child's life at the age of three that they can read? They can read a menu or a bus schedule? Seriously, WHAT is the point of an infant being able to read?

I love reading, and I certainly can't point to the age I started as the reason.

And my son started reading when he was 4, but he still gets a healthy dose of TV and computer games - didn't affect his fcat scores at all.

 

[Fintastic]

If the kids are interested and they're the ones saying they want to read, great. If it's the parents pushing them for bragging rights around the Moms' Club, not great.

 

[C.Ann]

How does it help the child's life at the age of three that they can read?

It provides them with an additional form of entertainment.. What could possibly be wrong with that? Should a 3 yr. old "only" be allowed to play with blocks? "Only" watch television? "Only" play outside? "Only" color? No - the wider the variety of entertainment, the more fun it is for the child - and if in providing a wider variety of entertainment they have also learned something along the way, that's just an added plus - wouldn't you think?

 

[SDFgirl]

My DD (almost 2) LOVES books, we must read 30 a day! However, I'm not trying to "teach" her to read the letters and words. If she begins to show an interest, of course, I'll pursue it. Until then, however, we just enjoy cuddling together while I read to her, talking about the pictures, and reciting her favorite lines in her beloved books.

I definitely don't think that reading early is the only way to love reading. I didn't read until I was six, but I'm an avid reader...I will read the back of a cereal box if it's the only thing around! Lots of times, I think these "early reading" programs are more for the parents than the kids!

 

[HelenePA]

It provides them with an additional form of entertainment..

at a yr old? I could see 2 or 3 but this is really geared toward infants.. Anthony does NOT need to know how to read "clap", "crawl" "play" "drink" let him talk first