"Your Baby Can Read" - Orange,CA

What's the rush to read? Let babies be babies, and they will learn to read at age 4 or 5. Help them along if you want with sounds of the alphabet, and read them books, etc. but to pay a lot of money so they can read before age 2, so ridiculous!

I would try "Leter Factory" by Leapfrog to learn repetition and phonics, so you don't have to reteach after they learn it by sight. Once a day playing it, it will probably only take 2 weeks to learn so much. It is only $10 and then they have the Reading DVD by Leapfrog to follow that one up! My 2 and 4 year old love it and have learned all letters and phonics from it.

This was recently discussed with my child's play group moms and quite a few of them are or were teachers before having their children. They all agreed that this was not the way to teach your child to read. Here are a few of their responses as well as a review that was posted...

One Response...
I could go on about this in a lot of detail for a few pages but since my opinions are so strong on this subject I will try to keep my comments to a minimum:
YOU SHOULD NOT TEACH YOUR BABY TO READ!!!

I have an elementary CA teaching credential with some of the highest additional training (CLAD & CLEAR) -has to do with language development, a Masters in Education, and a full Waldorf Teaching credential.

Anyway - I do have some experience with this subject. It's not that a program like this doesn't work - it will work but do you want it to???

Your child WILL read and for the rest of his/her life. Infant and toddlerhood are short, precious, and incredibly concentrated developmental times that should stay far away from anything too abstract - like reading. A little exposure is fine, but you really want your baby/toddler to concentrate on gross and fine motor development, organ and brain development through natural movement and play, and most important imagination which is very far from flashcards and symbols.

Enough said - it's just one opinion.

Another response...
I taught second and kinder for ten years and also have my masters in education. Don't worry so much about the academics part just yet. Let your babies be your babies...love them...play with them and enjoy this time!!!!!

A response with review link...
I was told about this program, and did some research on it a while ago. After reading all the reviews, I've definitely decided it's not for us. A lot has already been said, so I will just post a link to the review that really solidified for me to not use it. It's not so much trying to teach our kiddos too much too early, but more about how bad the program is for learning to read the right way.
http://www.epinions.com/kifm-review-F50-5791DC-38C97B3A-p...

Hope this info helps!

Hey K.,

It is so tempting to buy -- and buy into - a program that seems harmless and promises much.

I'm going to put on my Reading Specialist/university professor hat here to caution you about this particularly juicy temptation.

An oft quoted and solid study (google "Hart & Riseley") will convince you that what you want to do if you really want your child to be a good reader is to Talk To Your Child.

The quality as well as quantity of real conversation with infants and children is amazingly correlated with successful reading by 4th grade as well as with success in school.

The researchers followed families from three distinct socio-economic levels (professional, working class, welfare) and tracked the verbal exchanges. The difference between the real conversations professional adults have with their children and the lower SES parents have with their children is enough to make anyone "start talking."

And it's not a "program."
It's free.
It's fun.
It will bring results beyond what you can imagine.

Let me know if I can provide you with a concrete example of real "conversation."

It's just great that you are thinking of your child's cognitive and intellectual development! And my guess is that you are already have rich conversation with your child.
It will bring rewards your whole life through.

my neice turned 3 a month ago and recieved this as a gift. She can already tell us the words she reads from the first dvd and some from the second. it focuses mainly on word recognition much like Kindergarten teachers do with their "Sight words" but the way I look at it recognition is the first step to reading. I am so impressed with her progress that I just found your baby can read in the classifieds and ordered it for a quarter of the price.

i bought it for my son and he loves it. gets excited when th evideo comes on and loves reading teh word cards. he is 18 months, and i started him at one year. works best if you follow the practice time recommended. best part for me and son is sittin and playing, "reading" the word cards.

i have to say it is always surprising to me when people criticize buying a reading program for a baby or toddler, but they are okay to buy cartoon videos, barney, diego, or other popoular consumer children;s programs.

do what you feel is best for your child.

I love the program! My 5 month old gets excited to see the kids/babies/animals and she has learned to wave because of it, so far. Some people say that kids shouldn't learn by repetition...well, that's how most of us learn. I certainly remember learning the times table by memorization and then eventually learning how it worked. There's nothing wrong with it if it makes your baby happy. We follow the schedule for the most part. But if she's fusy or just not into it, I turn it off because I want her to be happy and not forced. As long as she enjoys it we'll keep it up. It's stimulating her brain, nothing wrong with that! And it's better than sitting her in front of the tv watching barney or other cartoons! At least it's educational and fun for her. :) It is a little pricey, but they have a 3 month payment plan so it really worked for us.

First of all, if you´re always busy, -do you need one more thing?

Secondly, if your baby can read, they can also read the headlines of newspapers. Suddenly you face yourself having to explain things like war and violence...... Not for young children.

Yes, this program works- but not because of the program.

INTERACTION with your child and EXCHANGING LANGUAGE are the 2 biggest factors in reading success, regardless of the program.

Also, PHONEMIC AWARENESS, which is manipulating the sounds of language, This is done easily through SONGS and RYHMES. (Think Mother Goose and all Dr. Seuss books)

Your Baby Can Read is a program based on your child watching TV for at least 2 hours a day, which is NOT HEALTHY!

So, my suggestion is to have the 12 and 10 year old read aloud and the 2 year old can listen, sing songs as a family, visit the library often, talk and listen to each other.

Good luck!

My kids are too old for this program and I don't know if it works. For over 20 years I've been hearing from teachers that "experiential learning" is best for the early years. Well my children's "experience" in school is conference after conference being told how 'behind' they are. I've read the report about the different socioeconomic groups (it made me so sad) and I'm aware that any early academic gains are flattened out and their peers catch up with them around 3rd grade, BUT 3-4 years of being normal but 'behind' their reading peers and being ashamed and maybe even jealous of this does/has left a toll on my kids. (My son cried at one conference/nag session) I hate to think about it but maybe they wondered why THEIR mom didn't teach them to read. I just finished volunteering in the Kindergarten classroom and the WORST behaved children were the reading/held back children. They're snotty and bored. I can see how this is frustrating to teachers - I'm just saying.

you can purchase it off amazon for under $50
http://www.amazon.com/Your-Baby-Can-Read-Development/dp/1...

Your Baby Can Read does work, but is is not very entertaining. It is better for babies that cannot walk around yet, because when they can walk they are out of there! I used it with my son, and I thought it was alright but I did not love it. However there are other baby DVDs that are similar to Your Baby Can Read but are more entertaining for babies. One DVD that I found useful and fun was Monki See Monki Do it is more entertaining and exciting for my baby. Hope this helps!!

Hi K.. I have used this program and yes it is working. However because its a bit high in price,I suggest you do what I did. We purchased the video for less than half the price on ebay. It didnt come with the flash cards advertised on tv but we made our own flash cards and it works just as good. My kids are definitely learning from it but the progress has been slow-mostly because I'm not as consistent with it as it says you should be. So I also suggest you follow the recommendations about consistency as well.

to be honest, as a future teacher and wife of a teacher, this is not the way to learn to read.

these products only teaches them to look at words as pictures and memorize those pictures (WORD RECOGNITION..which is not recommended). Your child is not really reading. Just recognizing "pictures".

They need to be able to first recognize the shapes of each letters and sounds; and most importantly phonemic awareness (which is often an innate ability that some are able to pick up earlier than others). Then after all that.. phonics is implemented

the ultimate goal with reading ..at the very end, is COMPREHENSION. children who do not have broad experiences with oral conversations will have a harder time reading.
Although they may recognize words, they are not exactly reading, because they're not comprehending. Comprehension (at an early age) comes from experience, prior knowledge...this is where you play a key role...in their reading experience: talk to them, converse, introduce new words, orally in conversations...etc.

There's an array of things to consider.

Hence, i don't recommend these types of products.

I also want to add that whole-word recognition or memorizing "pictures" (words) isn't really reading because reading requires decoding letters and sounds. What if your child was giving a word that he/she's never "seen" before. How about "marshmallow". Can a child be able to (on their own) sound out the word? Reading is not memorizing, it's decoding the letters' shapes and sounds, phonemic awareness, and blending sounds etc.

The program works in the sense that a baby/toddler is learning to "read" by sight words. The repetetive use of flashcards and repeating what the particular flashcard reads is how the child learns. I do believe that, yes, a portion of learning is based off of sight and repeating the word, but a large portion of learning to read is based off of phonetics, the singular sounds created by a letter and/or letters and then correctly blending those sounds together to form the word.

Take for instance, a one-year-old learns to read the words "ball" and "cat". More than likely the child will not be able to interchange letters and sounds of the two words, to create two new words "bat" and "call", because the initial words were learned by sight and not phonetically broken apart sound by sound.

In my opinion, I think that reading to your child daily, pointing out objects in picture books or your environment ("Here is a blue bird"), dialoguing about what you see ("Do you see the blue bird?"), varying the way a word is used ("That bird is blue," "the blue bird is flying," "what color is that bird?---"you're right! He is blue", and spending that one-on-one time plays the crucial role in the well-being of a child, more so than any video learning program can offer. But used together, it can be a benefit. Each child learns differently, at their own pace, visually/audibly/hands-on. You know your child best and are his/her first teacher. I wish you luck!

Hello K.,

I looked into this program when my youngest daughter was about 19 months old.It's not really a scam per say, but it doesn't actually teach the child to read, just memorize certain words over time. The research I came across showed that by teaching children to "read" this way (by sight), some children may have a more difficult time later in school when taught phonics so I chose not to buy it.
I didn't want to invest so much in a program that has any chance of making learning any harder than it already can be.
Best to you,
M.

The Your baby can read program is wonderful - just don't get caught up in too many details. If you follow the program EXACTLY...there is alot to do (many books, dvds, flash cards etc.) But even if you only do part of it, your child will still learn and enjoy it! I would recommend that you read Glenn Doman's book "How to teach your baby to read" he actually s tarted teaching this stuff in the 60s or 70s but unfortunately wasnt savvy enough to make an infomercial like Titzer did (the your baby can read TV guy). DOman does a great job of explaining how little children enjoy learning and want it desperately. You aren't taking anything away from your child by teaching them rather than filling their head with BS from tv instead. The old adage "let kids be kids" explains why the world is so full of brain dead retards. Anyway....My daughter loves it. shes 20 mths and can read At LEAST 28 words without being prompted. I dont like to test her so I dont know how many she can read really. We have a "learning box" that she begs me to do with her. I have shapes, books, vocabulary words etc in there. She wants to learn, she begs for it and anyone who isnt willing to give their kid that kind of attention or love, is a fool...Best of wishes to you, K.. If you listen to what the "Average" mom tells you, you will produce and "average" child....Why not make an extraordinary one?

-L.

Hi.. I used it on my little girl and she is going into Kindergarten this year, reading full books at past 2nd grade level. It definitely works. It's just the next step in visualizaiton; they hear the word, see the item and then see the word. They can put it all together quite quickly and easily. It's not a scam. They started out just in Trade Shows and at mall stands. That's where we got ours back in 2004 when my daughter was a year old. I gave mine to a friend who just had 2 babies back to back and they are both doing super on it; 6 months and a year old.

K.,

I have a 27 month old and a 16 month old. I use it with them, not consistently, but they do watch it. The 27 month old has a birth defect and they are both developmentally delayed. The 27 month old follows along and does what they are showing her, when we ask her to do it in the car or wherever else we are, she still does it. It is amazing! We have only watched the starter DVD and the first one, but it is working for us. The 16 month old watches along, she has not started to do any of the actions, but, she has a big smile on her face and she is paying attention. I am also teaching them sign language, as I am a sign language interpreter. Neither one has any communication skills at all. Your Baby Can Read is an excellent program for any child. Best of Luck in all you do! K.

It is funny that I came across your post because I am an OC mom and read this for personal reasons but also happen to be the publicist for Your Baby Can Read. I will tell you honestly, this program works. I have seen thousands upon thousands of babies that are reading from using this program. I have two young boys and they love it and their verbal skills are more advanced that most kids their age. They love to read and they enjoy the program. I have spoken to hundreds of parents who support the program and hear on a daily basis how much it has helped their child with self confidence and communication skills. Dr. Titzer is very passionate about babies and early learning and created this program after studying the way the infant brain works for many years. He gives talks to parents all over the world. In fact, half of the babies in Asia read and use this program. He is quite the celebrity over there. I wouldn't work with the company if I didn't feel so passionately about what this program can do for our little ones.