Your Baby Can Read. - New York,NY

I think 60 minutes did an expose on this program...no evidence it helps children read and is basically memorization and a scam:(

Many teachers do not like this series for the simple fact that it does not teach reading it teaches memorization. They have to re teach kids to actually read using phonics and it's harder to reprogram kids than it is to program them.

TV, I don't believe in setbacks due to TV. My daughter is gifted and has been watching TV since she was a very small baby, the only way I could get her to stop crying ALL NIGHT was when I finally got so exhausted from walking her I put on 101 Dalmations on the TV and it distracted her just enough that she calmed down. She was speaking some Spanish by the time she was 3 from watching Dora.
So no I don't believe TV causes setbacks. I do believe it depends on WHAT they watch.

I am a teacher. Your Baby Can Read is SUCH false advertising. Those children are not reading, they are merely recognizing words as if they are pictures. The basis of reading is phonetic awareness, not memorizing the appearance of a word. For instance, the word HAT just becomes like seeing a picture of a hat. The child did not learn the relationship between the H - A - T. You cannot learn to read this way. Waste of time, waste of money, waste of effort. Instead invest your money in books and your time in sitting down with her for at least 15 minutes a day and reading to her.

Babies cannot read. They do not need to read. There is no benefit to a baby who can read, and there are tons of developmental processes that your baby needs to learn that they won't be learning if you are sitting them in front of the TV to watch videos that do not teach them to read, then using flash cards that are completely and totaly developmentally inapropriate.

Read to your baby. Let your baby see you reading. Sing, talk, look at everyday intertesting things and describe them. Play. Let them bang on pots and pans and play with old yougurt containers in the tub. That is what your baby needs. TV, it is a fact of life. If you don't want to watch TV, don't, and certainly, your child does not need TV. Pleanty of sucessful people have been exposed to TV.

Don't waste your money on a reading program for a baby. Lets put it this way, how about, "Your baby can drive!" For goodness sake, where would they go? Same is true for reading, what would they read? Let your baby develop the way they are hard wired to develop, it is very effective!

M.

Your Baby Can Read actually encourages you to sit your baby in front of a tv to "memorize" site words. So if you are at all concerned about that, then don't buy Your Baby Can Read. Your baby needs to be a baby and be read to and played with and loved. She will learn how to read. We all do. Don't rush it. The program is a total waste of your money.

Kate nailed it..... the program you are looking at teaches memorization...not reading.

Read to your child daily, teach phonics...

Put the $$ you would spend on the rip-off to your child's college fund.

Your baby can read is a rip off and many teachers will tell you that they actually have to re-teach your child to read after they learn this way. I wouldn't waste my money if I were you.
As far as TV, my daughter watched noggin since she was 2 years old. She has limited tv time and we watch tv with her when she does. I think it depends on the type of programming and length that you let them watch. I wouldn't let the tv babysit my kids for 4 hours but if she will watch a show for 30 min so I can take a shower then I am all for it :) Hope this helps ((HUGS))

I would use flash cards and baby books instead. And when it comes to TV as long as it's not 4 hours of shows it's fine. My daughter likes TV and she has been watching her "shows" since she was like 9 months. She doesn't really pays too much attention to it though, she plays for a while and then watches a little, or when she hears a song she'll watch and dance with it, and then she'll keep on playing.I let her watch two shows a day, so 1 hour, and it's usually "Dora" and "Yo Gabba Gabba"

I am sure your child will learn to read when she's ready. I am a SAHM and work with my daughter (turned 3 in Oct). She can read every letter, uppercase and lower case and every number 0-9. It was free. :)

As for TV, I would think anything in moderation is fine. Don't plop them down for 6 hours but a little here and a little there is just fine.

Sey,
No.
TV is not recommended for 5 and under. I have no plans to allow my son TV at all, for as long as possible. DH has other intentions I'm sure, but for now, he agrees, there is no need. He's made it 3 years and hasn't had the chance to zone out infront of the tube.

let your baby be a baby. : ) She will only h ave this time once. She should have picture books at most under age 2, and then selective words after that, and if you need guidance, look up Steiner, and Waldorf schooling online, or in your library.

Much, much more, but my babe is hungry and I'm making him something to eat!
Good luck,
M.

Hello Sey,
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends NO tv before the age of two.
I think it's fine for a preschooler to watch 30 or 60 minutes of tv a day, my kids did when they were that age. However, children do NOT need to learn to read in front of a television. Memorizing words does not teach phonemic awareness and is not the equivilent of reading. Working in an elementary school, most of the curriculum of kindergarten is based on teaching children to read and your child will learn to read in school - for free, if you choose public school. Different school districts have different reading programs, and it's hard to reteach basic skills to a child who has learned some other way but is missing components of the district's requirements.
Instead, foster a love for reading by having plenty of children's books around the house, read to your child often, take her to storytime at the library, etc.

I used Your baby can read with my son. By 20 months he could actually read 50+ words. You have to be serious about it or it's a waste of money. They say to have your child watch it twice a day for 2-3 months and then move to the next dvd. We would put it on during lunch when he was in his high chair and occasionally during dinner. He was more focused on it while in a high chair and it is very interactive so we would sit with him and go over the words too. We weren't very strict with the twice a day. It isn't like a cartoon or anything like that. Its mainly flashcards and then a picture of what the card says. At first I thought there was no way it would work bc it is very fast paced but my son enjoyed the songs in it and his vocabulary was growing so I kept letting him watch it. We started around 10 months to a year I believe. Around 17 months I made my own flash cards and showed them to him and he started saying the words! I was shocked! It also really helped him with his letters. I remember once we were in the Dollar General parking lot and he started spelling it out... d-o-l-l-a-r. My mom was in the car and was caught so off guard! She was in awe of how well he was doing at such a young age. I say if you have the time to spend to work on it daily then it is a great buy. My cousin was so impressed that she borrowed my dvds for her daughter but then never got thru the first dvd bc they didn't have much time to work on it.

By the way there isn't anything wrong with children watching learning programs and memorization is a part of learning to read. To learn the alphabet, the sounds that letters make, ect. children start with memorizing. The dvds are just about the same as using flash cards except it really helps the parent teach better and helps the child understand better since it has moving pictures to go with the word. For example: Cow and then it shows a picture of a real cow eating grass and so on. Hope this helps!

Sorry, but I hate the Your baby Can Read educational plaything-du-jour right now. I think it is a horribly dishonest gimmick and am not at all convinced of its efficacy. I am aware other moms love it, but to me, it is a waste of time and money.

I also feel it is inappropriate for any child less than 2 to watch television. It is a recommendation from the American Academy of Pediatrics to not expose children to TV when they are less than two years of age. Additionally, I think children benefit more from real life interactions with real adults and other children. I feel strongly that they do best when they are actually being read to, the old fashioned way, while reclining in the loving arms of mom, dad, older sister, grandparents, whatever. And it's more fun for both the reader and the child!

Everything in moderation. Some TV, even every day, is not bad. Kids can learn a lot (sometimes thing we don't want too! LOL!) from TV and you just have to be aware of what they're watching and discuss it with them from time to time. Noggin has some awesome shows! At 4 she's probably growing out of some of them, but also PBS has some. I think that Baby Can Read is mostly a gimick. Of course they're memorizing. I'm sure it works, but I kind of agree with Bobbi on taking your time and going at the child's own pace.

Read to your child as much as possible and I think you'll foster a love of reading that is more important! Good luck!

you can also check at your library to see if it's available.

I think that Your Baby Can Read thing has to be a scam, though I haven't tried it nor do I know anyone who has.

TV has its time and place. My son, who just turned 4, usually watches 1-2 hours max daily. I start feeling very guilty when we get past the 1 hour mark, even though I need the time to get work done. On the plus side, he has definitely learned things from the TV. Most recently he saw the Sphinx on Little Einsteins and was fascinated, so of course we had to look it up on the internet and take books out from the library about it. That led to Egyptians and mummies and pyramids. Now he has some rudimentary knowledge about ancient Egypt. So you can definitely expand off of things your child learns from TV.

On the negative side, my son is like a sponge when it comes to ads. I try to avoid the channels with advertising, but it's not always possible. It's embarrassing when he starts quoting the OxyClean ad word-for-word. Try to stick to Nick Jr. or PBS.

In terms of learning, I would recommend frequent trips to the library and reading, reading, reading to her. Flash cards can be useful too, if done in a fun way without any pressure. We always did flash cards at the table after meals and my son knew the full alphabet at 18 months as a result. It was nice to get THAT out of the way. Now we are starting to work on reading by getting him to identify the first letter of words via the sound of the letter. The key is trying to keep it fun and no pressure.

I never used the "My Baby Can Read" program so I really can't comment on it. But watching tv at an early age is a different story. My 6 grand kids loved to watch tv when they were very young. Since I was the babysitter for all of them and had them during the day, 5 days a week, I let them watch it. BUT...I only let them watch certain programs and videos. By the time each of them were ready for school they could all count, read and write their letters, knew their ABC's and could read and write their letters and could also read and write many words. All of them are quite advanced in school because of it (so their teachers have all said).

They liked shows like Sesame Street, where they were taught their letters and numbers. They actually got a big kick out of learning a new letter or number or word! They also learned good manners watching this show. Please and thank you. And about peoples feelings. I think it was a good experience for all of them.

BTW I usually watched the shows with them and we would interact with the show together. I can't believe some of the silly things I have done with the kids while watching tv with them! haha But I wouldn't change a single minute of it! We all have such good memories!

I am a firm believe in "everything in moderation." A little bit of TV here and there won't harm your child. Those who say they do not allow TV in the home must have a full-time nanny and housekeeper then, because it's honestly the only way I can get anything done around here.

I have heard that "Your Baby Can Read" teaches memorization only. I haven't tried it personally. Why does your baby need to read? There's plenty of time for that later in life.

Just relax and enjoy them while they're this little.
Lynsey