yourbabycanread.com Pt. 2

It's funny reading this as my daughter is watching the first video as we speak, putting her "arms up"! She is 16 months and we've only been doing it 2 weeks. It has really taught her many words/sounds even though she's not even reading, yet...? My friend has been doing it and her son reads a few words. My thought is nothing is too bad in moderation.

I'm a teacher and I say it's total BS. There is something else going on there. Don't just give into the stats and "data" they have. Research. Why does everyone want to rush these sorts of things? It is not age appropriate. They are not ready for abstract concepts as babies. Children learn by PLAY. When children are 3 or 4 you can start on learning letters and sounds, but not force fed. Use "teachable moments". What happens when they get to school and are totally bored and acting out? Kinder and 1st grade teachers end up not spending as much time with your child because they already have the concepts and spend time with those are in the most need.
I don't know about the speech thing with your 6 year old, but you can always request testing at the school level to try to receive free services as a pull out during the day.

I don't know about this program in particular but the one thing that makes me nervous about "getting a jumpstart on school" is this...the last thing I want in my high school AP English classes is another kid who hates school because he was subjected to mind-numbing drills and test preparation every year for many years. For my own son, I'm not going to do any kind of flash card system or anything else that makes learning feel like work. He wants to learn. And that's what I want to nurture--the learning itself matters less than the enjoyment OF the learning right now.

Something we've done in our house that I haven't seen a lot of other families do is to keep all of his books with all of his toys--they're stacked on the ground, right between his two toy bins, and I put some in piles face-out just like bookstores do to "advertise" titles. Also, I bring small board books EVERYWHERE. Today at the zoo I read "At the Zoo" to him while he had lunch, a dinosaur book while his dad waited in line to get our lunch, his favorite Peek-a-Who? book during his diaper change (he holds the book which keeps his hands from going into the mess!) and of course a few other books while we were driving the 20 minutes to the zoo. I always have three small books in the diaper bag, and another handful in the car.

My son is only 16 months old, but I can name at least 10 "favorite" books that he pulls from the stack again and again--he lights up when it's time to read and THAT'S what I want. The friends we visited this weekend, whose son is only a few months older than ours, commented on how much language our son has already--and I think it's directly attributed to his "love" for books and reading time. If I'm sitting on the ground, I'm a lap waiting for a kid and a story. Good luck!

I'm wondering why everyone is so concerned with babies reading? Let your children be little ones while they still can. There is plenty of time to read the rest of their lives.

I'm not judging... just putting my thoughts out there.

Good luck.
~A., teacher

Hi C.. I did the your baby can read thing when my baby was about six months old and it was really amazing. I got my kit at a baby expo in Hawaii where Dr. Titzer spoke and sold items there on the spot. By the time my daughter was about a year and month old she could read about ten to fifteen words and sang along with all the songs. She loved the videos and they kept her entertained the whole time. I am a SAHM so every night I was reading to her from the five books I bought and also the other regular ones we got from the store. I showed her those videos twice a day everyday so that helped too. Now my daughter is two and half and I got really lazy about showing her the vids and the program really neglects to tell you how to continue on after you have done all five vids. So now she doesn't read the words anymore since it is a use it or lose it type of thing. However, it was awesome in helping to develop her brain and she talked really early because of it. She knew what sounds certain animals made by about nine months and sang the songs by herself. I would get the program all over again because it has so many benefits. It really does make them smarter I think and they enjoy it so much why not? If you look on your local Craigslist, you might find the whole set for cheap since most people love the concept, buy the program, then lack the discipline to do it the way it is supposed to be done. Good luck

Yes, Yes, Yes. We started with our son at 2 years old and he picked it up quickly. I wish I had started when he was an infant like they suggest but he still did great. It does take discipline and that's the only thing I can stress is to make sure you do it every day. It really makes them excited to do it. I would ask my son "do you want to watch your words" and he would get all excited. I would put the video on while he ate breakfast in his high chair. They say to have him sit quietly but depending on the child I can't imagine them sitting on the couch for 20 minutes straight. It's hard to focus that long at that young of an age.

This program does work as long as you make sure you do what it says to do. There are a lot of cards with a slide out picture to show the child after they attempt to say the word. It is word recognition but it's great. We made signs around the house with common words we use that aren't on the cards and he loves to see them and say them.

I was surprised to see someone say the program doesn't work, I guess it's different for everyone...but I highly recommend it. I think anything to get your child a head start before kindergarten is a great idea!! A child should be learning as much as possible all the time. I'm not talking about pressuring them to learn but just exercising their brains all the time.

No, it doesn't work. It's a couple of short stories of a child narrating, "Can you say HI" Then they spell out 'HI'. Some flash cards, literally a couple. In the early stages it over stimulated my son to irritation, now at 16 mo he's bored with it. Noggin on cable has excellent shows with no commercials, tons of learning! There is also a store called ?Thomas ville? in Hazard center by HW 163 and Friars that has flashcards and all kinds of wonderful learning tools! Skip the baby can read!

if you do choose to get it you can order it from amazon for under $50. same product just cheaper

Hi C.,
I bought the program about six weeks ago for my 10 month old baby. I try to do a little with her and the program each day although I'm not always able to (and the program says that you should watch the video twice a day, which is an hour + of time commitment). The program also says that you should have your baby exposed to no other TV, and try as I might, I can't seem to get her daddy to turn off the news and the sports news. So... All that is to say that we're not really using the program 100% properly BUT I think I've seen a little comprehension in my daughter, although I'm not sure. It seems that she sometimes claps at the clap card and waves at the wave card. Either way, she loves to open and close the cards, and the videos keep her entertained while she eats, so I think it's better than other things she could be doing... I'd love to hear what other people's responses are, if you get any. It's a good program but I wonder if it's worth the money!

Hey C.,

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 really 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.

The difference between the real conversations professional adults have with their children and the verbal exchanges people on welfare have with their children is enough to make anyone "start talking" with her child.

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!

A friend of mine gave me the videos a few weeks ago. My 20 month old loves to watch them and already will "read" the words before they say what it is. But I don't believe for a second that it is in any way making him smarter or teaching him to read. He is just memorizing what the word looks like.
Like I said, he loves to watch them, so it is not a bad investment (even better is you can find it on ebay), but don't count on it making your child more intelligent. My first son who is 14 years now was an early talker and "reader" too and it has had no impact on his learning ability later in life. He has never been in any advanced classes or anything.

I agree with Amanda F. Don't are kids grow up fast enough as it is. We never had these programs when we were younger and I am sure all of us turned out just fine.

Just my opinion!!

Yes I'm using the system right now. I have 3 1/2 year old twin girls. I regret that I didn't start it earlier (in the infant stage) with my girls though. I'm having a little challenge keeping them focused on the tv when they can run around and interact with each other. One of my girls is really into it but the other has a really short attention span and distracts the other. If I do the program individually one girl at a time, I have better success. I have a friend who is also using the program with her 23 month old and she's already reading short sentences.

I think the program is awesome and it really does work if you follow the instructions.

Hi, C..
My daughter is 10 months old and has been using the Your Baby Can Read program since she was 5 1/2 months. We love it! If you have the money ($200) for it, why not? It was just another things for us to do during the day. We haven't followed the program exactly, but she can already read 6 words (that I'm certain of). They suggest you do the videos twice a day, and we've only ever done them once a day. Also, we will sometimes go for several days without reading the books or the flashcards. But my daughter has learned so much already anyway. Also, it's the only TV she ever watches, and I think that's important. So when we sit down in front of the TV, she gets so excited. Each video is only about 20 minutes long, and they have always held her attention for the entire time. I didn't think she'd be able to pay attention for that amount of time, but she has. She loves the songs. Her first spoken word was duck, which is one of the words in the program. That was followed quickly by dog (although they sound awfully similar - LOL). I am still amazed when she sees either of the words that she actually says them. She also claps when she sees the word clap, and points at the word point. She touches her toes when she sees toes. And she looks at my mouth and sometimes shows me her teeth for the word teeth. I figured that if it helped her brain to develop connections, that would be great. And if it helps her to read more easily, then even better.
By the way, I am a teacher who has studied brain research as a part of my masters degree program, so I really looked hard at Dr. Titzer's research and it's all legitimate and makes a lot of sense.