Thoughts on "My Baby Can Read" Program...

My 17 month old daughter has been watching it since she was 3 or 4 months old. We were never consistent with it but she still can read a TON of words. Even if she didn't watch the videos, the books and flashcards are good for teaching her. She loves the videos though and it is one of the few things she likes to watch. She prefers reading the books and doing the flashcards though. I think that it is a great investment and I would buy it all over again if I needed to :)

I like one of the other respondents believe that the children are memorizing the words. I don't think I learned phonics when I learned to read, I just memorized the words. When my son learned to read in Kindergarten last year, he learned to sound everything out and it truly amazed me. I think phonics is way better than memorizing and will much more beneficial to any child for the long term.

There was a developmental reason why children didn't start school until they were 6 many years ago. The eyes are not ready for it! Nothing under 2 inch letters before age 5. Reading early isn't a determiner of higher IQ. Let baby be baby!!!!

you can get flash cards with pictures on them at the teacher store along with your really simple books.

I think this is just another example of how we are trying to make our kids grow up too quickly. Just let your baby be a baby and read to him. He'll get a lot out of that too and still be able to be a kid!

Hi M.
As a former early intervention specialist, I can tell you that your baby is currently learning at a rapid rate. I would advise against doing anything that interferes with this. When you hold your baby and read to him, you are also building your relationship with him.
Victoria

Hi
I have seen the ads too but remain skeptical. Both my sons are early readers...by that I mean they made the jump from reading words to fluency before first grade. Both are strong readers and read well above grade level and read for hours for leisure. All I did was read a ton of good literature from birth and exposed them to early phonics at 3 via Montessori and at home. They caught on by 4 and could read simple text. After that it was daily reading practice and by 5 they were fluent. I saw on that ad a boy of 6 reading a history book on Abraham Lincoln. Well my kids read like that and they never did a thing before 4! So I think it's rubbish. Most kds can begin learning to read at 3 and no kid needs to sit in front of a tv for 1 hour each day. Certainly not at 6 months! Limit tv and read a lot to your baby and he will be fine.

You can try the library or ebay to get it cheaper.

I've never used the product and know very little about it. If you end up buysing this check ebay first. I saw quite a fe for sale on there last time I looked.

Do NOT buy this program. There is no particular advantage to having a baby know how to read. At his age, he needs time with you . . . reading books, poiting out and labeling objects around the house and outside, and lots of fun play time. You can address reading directly at an appropriate age. There are many studies out there that report on the effects of television on the infant and toddler brain -- it is over stimulating and can lead to hiper activity in the pre-school and beyond years. Again, stick with old fashioned "quality time" -- a.k.a. NO TV!

I am the mother of a beautiful 6 yr old girl that started Kindergarten this year. When she began kindergarten the teacher moved her to 1st grade books within the first couple of weeks. She ran through the kindergarten books that fast! I never used any of these programs that the sell on television. I used old fashioned flashcards, and actually reading to my child. I DID however supplement with Baby Einstein Videos now and then. I started with simple flashcards that contained pictures and a letter at 6 months. By they time she started Mothers Day Out at 18 months she already knew her colors, shapes, and recognized letters and numbers. By the time my daughter was 3 she was already reading easy readers out loud to herself. I will never forget the day when my older son (19) Spelled the word ice cream in front of her and she piped up "I want ice cream too!" (she was almost 4 yrs old).

M.,

You have already received lots of good feedback from ladies. One thing to add...when a close friend was working on a Masters in Education, I went to hear her thesis presentation. It was done with all the other students who would be graduating as well. Another student did their presentation on TV and infants. The research said that neural connections are rapidly being made between birth and two years of age. It also showed that exposing a child before the age of two to TV, prevents neural connections being made between the left and right hemispheres of the brain. There are many ideas of the long term effects this has on children.

I agree with the suggestions from other moms about doing some things "the old fashioned way" like reading ALOT to your child and flashcards. Congratulations on the adventure into motherhood! It is a tremendously rich experience!

God's Grace to you,

Lisa :)

We have it and my daughter has watched it since she was a little younger than your son. They do not have to watch it an hour a day to enjoy and learn from it. My daughter watched it once a day, which is about 20min. I don't think 20min. a day is too much. She didn't watch any other TV for the longest time, but now we alternate the Baby Can Read dvds with other stuff. She is now 18mo and "reads" about 40-50 words. I didn't notice that she was picking up the words until she was about 11-12 months old.

Hello!
I don't know anything about this program, but I have my doubts the kids are actually "reading". If anything they are probably just memorizing the shape of the word and the name. Do they ever show the babies reading out of books, or just off the flash cards??
Plus, The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no TV for kids uner the age of 2...so, putting your 6mo old in front of the TV for an hour probably isn't a good idea (plus, no a 6mo old does not have the attention span to do that).
Anyways, my daughter is almost 2 and has really watched no TV. She LOVES to look at books and be read to. She is very imaginative and SUPER talkative, friendly, and playful.
I say take the $200 and spend it on books! :)

The recommendation that babies watch no TV until age 2 is probably good advice. The screen provides stimulation, but in a bad way, especially for a 6-month-old! There have been links to ADHD, etc.

A baby does not need to know how to read, and earlier is not better. The point is to get children to love books and reading, and if you curl up with her and read to her, you will do that. Think of all the books you can buy for $200!

This program teaches word recognition, not reading. So your child will know the word DOG, but be clueless when they see the word GOD.

M., I bought this program and wish that I didn't because I tried to get my daughter at the age of 4 months to watch it and she could not sit still not only that it is very boring. There is nothing to catch the babies attention.

I know people who have used it without great results. My son was reading as soon as he turned two with something much cheaper and simpler. We went to Walmart and bought the "Leap Frog" DVDs. The Letter Factory teaches them what each letter looks like and the sound. The Word Factory teaches how to blend the letter sounds together to make words. Those are the only two you need to start, but I recommend the whole series. We absolutely love them.

The DVDs are shorter (about thirty minutes) and my son was mesmerized by them. He'll still watch them happily today (he turned six last week.

I considered purchasing the program as well but soon realized, in my humble opinion, that you could provide the same word recognition process by making your own flashcards with words and taping them to the appropriate object. In addition to reading, I'm guessing that the more exposure to written words one has keeps the mind thinking in those terms. Good luck!

Don't spend the money. Babies learn so much more by experiencing things. The motor skills are much more important at this age.

Hi M.,

I got it off ebay a couple of months ago for my 18 month old. Honestly, I don't think at 6 months he would have paid much attention, he only liked the "Neighborhood Animals" baby einstein then, but each child is different. I only got it because my son is behind all the other kids his age, most of them have at least 2- 4 words in their vocabulary, and my son was yet to say any. I wasn't too worried because he knows objects and has plenty of talking/babble, but I got this anyway just to see.

I'm not real big on him watching TV, and have only used one DVD he really likes called "Baby Genius Nursery Rhymes". He loves this DVD and will stay happy in a playpen while I get a shower. It shows kids singing and dancing to songs he loves. I tried the "Baby can read" DVD and he did not stay happy in his playpen, however, he does stay interested if I put it in while I cook/clean, etc. I have to say, it has gotten him more engaged to see little kids saying words, and I can tell he is trying to say them. For instance, now the word clap comes up and he does say it and does it, the same with cat and dog now. I really don't feel like he needs to "read", but rather hear the words and associate them with the objects, and I do think this is good for that. I agree with others, reading to them is best, and I do this but sometimes I need a little help because he is not a stay still for Mommy kind of boy.

The DVD says to have them watch it twice a day, I only do it once a day. I'm not trying to really make my 18 month old learn to read already, I just wanted a show that could teach him something as opposed to some cartoon if I was going to have him watch anything. The same with the Baby Genius video I let him watch, that one is at least getting him to try and sing the words with the kids. I could not fork out the $200, so I ended up getting it on ebay for about $80. However, beware, I think the set you buy from the actual company came with more cards and other reading material to assist the DVD's that may be helpful. Most all the vendors on ebay, including the one I bought from, are only the 5 DVD's with flash cards with each.

Overall, I'm glad I got this for some occasional help. I do not have him in daycare where he watches other kids, so I think this has been helpful and the more he watches it, the more he seems to like it and try to say the words.

Hope this helps.

My husband and I saw ads for this, too, and asked our pediatrician as well as educators; my son's doctor says there are no studies that show this program actually works, and an educator said the best thing you can do is sit and read books to your child, not use this program. I saw the inventor of this program on a show, and he was very convincing, but of course, he's a salesperson... Of course, any ads for this and stories on their website will only highlight success stories, and who is to say those kids might not have gotten the same results conventionally? My son is smart and picks things up so quickly - I have no doubts that he will love to read because we read to him, and that he will not be behind simply because we aren't going to follow this newest fad.

I did not use it, my daughter is 15 now. I think it is another venue to get $$$ from moms.

I was not one to place my child in front of the tv/ video. She is in all honors classes in 9th grade along with being a cheerleader and in 10th grade orchestra ( violin).

We spent many days at reading time at the library, playgroups, trips to the arboretum, zoo, aquarium and reading a LOT.

When I grocery shopped I used it as a lesson ("please find 6 nice lemons for mommy"), ("where is the red package, etc")

You can involve everyday duties with teaching your little one. Talk to them a lot, read to them a lot. You are the best teacher! Spend that $200 on something truly useful for your family and baby.

The program you are looking at sound much like a "tv babysitter" so you can do things other than spend the little time you have with that baby.

Enjoy your baby.... They grow up too fast!!

Tv isn't evil, but no I don't hold much stock in these programs. Babies can be read to, which you can buy lots of books with the same money. Take your baby to storytimes at bookstores and libraries. It is a better time investment.

If you have the money now, get it. I am not sure that 6 months would work at this moment, but it can't hurt. I wouldn't let my 6 month old watch any other tv though. I bought this for my 3yr old & well he just doesn't get into it that well, BUT he STILL LEARNED FROM IT!!! I was shocked. He didn't pay attention to it, or at least I thought he didn't & he learned some words from it. I haven't been using it lately, but he is asking for me to get it back out so he can learn to read. So it is worth it.
Craiglist & E-bay have them cheaper.

its funny to me the people that say dont buy this. I bought it when my son was about 3-4 months old and he still watches them today and he is 2 years old! He always loved them. After about the 3rd time watching them he really got into it!!! I got the whole set with books and flashcards. He actually reads the words and is so good at it. I thought is was very worth the money. I never really did the whole hour like they say. I just did it when I needed a break to cook or do laundry etc. I would buy it again! Another type of dvd I love are the baby einstein dvds. It taught him sign language (the ones with Marlee Matlin) and it helped so much before he could use his words because it taught him to do the signs for drink, eat etc. He still signs now even though he can just tell me what he wants. You can find those anywhere. Just make sure she is in them or they dont do the signs. You really just need to use your own judgement though. My son isnt messed up from watching them. I am not the kind of mother that just plops my son down in front of the tv either. They really are educational and also show all the different colors and have songs to sing along to etc. Lots of my friends are so surprised when they see how much he talks and can read words and letters. I dont see how anyone can talk negatively about it. I will be using them for my son that is due in March too! If you just want to try like one dvd look on ebay etc. They have them too. Good Luck!

Dear Martiza:

It's been a loooong time since I've had a 6 month old, but I had to drop a quick comment. First I'll preface by saying I don't know anything about the program. My quick comment is my daughter would NOT sit in front of a TV or bother to notice what was on the TV until she was closer to 3 years old.

I obviously never used a program like this. My husband and I began reading to our daughter very early, though. My daughter has always read well above grade level and is a straight A student. I'd advise not buying the program and investing in lots of books!

L. F., mom to a 14-year-old daughter, married to my best friend for 23 years

hi M., i'm sure you've already made a decision on this by now, but i just wanted to throw in my 2 cents. i see the commercials for this too and think "wow - maybe i should get that for my baby!"
but that's exactly what they want us to do. i'm 30 years old and i never went through the Baby read program because it wasn't around in my generation. anyway, my point is, i think it's possibly pushing too hard, going too far, when in reality for the most part, all of our babies will develop and learn and grown just fine. :) know what i mean? good luck...and i'll be sending you a separate private message regarding a different subject i'd like to pick your brain about! :)
thanks, becky :)