Yay or Nah: Your Baby Can Read

I saw an article on the Your Baby Can Read program...does it really work? I am a definate skeptic on this one.

Re: Yay or Nah: Your Baby Can Read

I am sure it "could" work, but in all honesty, I do not get it. What is the point of them reading sooo early. In my opinion, they will all level out for the most part in the end anyway.

Re: Yay or Nah: Your Baby Can Read

No, I don't think it works. Reading is a developmental skill. I think it's just memorization and I don't see the point in it.

Re: Yay or Nah: Your Baby Can Read

Nay (or in this case Nah)

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IDK I just feel like those babies are not developmentally ready to read.

Re: Yay or Nah: Your Baby Can Read

Nay

Re: Yay or Nah: Your Baby Can Read

Reading is so much more than just "saying" the word. It's comprehension. Those kids you see on the commercial might be "reading" but 1) they're an exception and 2) they're not comprehending a thing, so what's the point?

Re: Yay or Nah: Your Baby Can Read

Yah...It was handed down so not a big deal for me. Would i pay for it, kinda

DD is not reading yet (17 mtns) but for first words and meanings of the words, absoulty. Once your child gets older, i believe they will be set up with this tool to maybe don't it ahead of schedule. Clearly, this will not be her only tool to learn from.

Though these DVD's, she has associated seeing the words, the action and saying the word. If you work with your DC with flashcards, this is basically the same thing.

There are also songs in the video that Sky loves to sing. See if you can borrow it. DD enjoys them.

Re: Yay or Nah: Your Baby Can Read

Re: Yay or Nah: Your Baby Can Read

As an educator with 15 years behind her,I find programs like this unnecessary. I am dead set against them and think the time used to work the program could be better used.

I would NEVER sit my child down for this and being a teacher does not mean my child would read any faster than anyone else's simply because I teach kids how to read all day long. Sure my eyes are always open, but I'll be damned if I am going to force my child to "read" before she is ready.

The PPs are right, reading is a LOT more than decoding. It is encoding and comprehension as well. And guess what, most kids even out by the time they hit kindergarten. Unless you show me data that ALL kids in kindergarten who used this program are far better readers and are ready to skip a grade at 5 years old, then I could never be sold on it.

Re: Yay or Nah: Your Baby Can Read

Imho, as an educator too, I say skip it, there are so many other skills they should be learning and mastering first....I'm a big believer in letting them be kids and not pushing them to do things....

Re: Yay or Nah: Your Baby Can Read

As a teacher of literarcy, i dont personally believe that any one program is perfect. i believe children need different strategies and exposures to lterature and words.
IMO- save your money and read to your DC

Re: Yay or Nah: Your Baby Can Read

Nah. Memorizing site words is not reading.

Re: Yay or Nah: Your Baby Can Read

Its a yay for us.

We don't sit DS at the tv, and don't even keep it on around him. But I do let him watch baby can read with me, I pause talk to him about it, we motion with the children, its a lot of fun to do together. I have been doing it since 3m, like they recommend. Also ds and I read a lot of board books, he's very interested in looking at words. I honestly can't tell you he recognizes anything, but he stares at writing on things almost as long as he would at a new face.
Ds is only 5 months, and I don't think he's going to learn to read from the program, but who knows, I don't care we have fun with it.

IMO its a nice tool for educational play, I never expected much out of it, but I'm pleased that its very low intensity, very slow, and yet gives DS so much joy.


I didn't buy it either, it was a hand me down. My neice was already addicted to nick jr, when they started it, and she found the videos dull.

I don't see any harm in a child that learns to read before they turn 1. Its not necesssary, sure, but id love for all those who oppose it, tell me what is the harm, if the child genuinly enjoys it?

Re: Yay or Nah: Your Baby Can Read

nay - its memorization, not reading. children need to read through phonics - sounding words out JMHO!

Re: Yay or Nah: Your Baby Can Read

Re: Yay or Nah: Your Baby Can Read

Personally, I wouldn't bother with it. I don't want my baby to read. My child will read when she's ready...I see no need to push it on her.
And I'm an English teacher who loves to read.

Re: Yay or Nah: Your Baby Can Read

I am also a teacher- and I think time is better spent reading quality books to your child, and talking about them. That does more than just reading words.

I have met many kids over the years who could read a passage aloud with no issues at all- and then not be able to tell me one important thing about what they'd read. Reading is a process and decoding is only one step, one that there's no reason for babies to do.

Re: Yay or Nah: Your Baby Can Read

Re: Yay or Nah: Your Baby Can Read

Re: Yay or Nah: Your Baby Can Read

Re: Yay or Nah: Your Baby Can Read

There is a natural developmental progression to acquiring academic skills. Reading is an academic skill. Not one educator that I can think of would dispute that. There may be no harm, but I cannot think of one advantage unless your child's destiny and the G-d's above have predetermined that the child is Harvard bound. In which case, there are plenty of Harvard grads who read at the same pace as the rest of us.

I will say this, from the time I student taught MANY years ago until now, I have met many children in both the general education and special education settings whose parents' expectations exceed their capabilities. These children often feel as if they have disappointed their parents, appear anxious and yes are socially awkward. That is my experience alone so I won't comment on the population at large, but, IMO, I think programs like this, could start a parent and child down a road like this. I'm sure I'll get flamed for this, but I've been teaching long enough to form this opinion.

Id rather see my kids play with developmental toys. There are plenty of children who recognize symbols and letters through life experience and are fluent readers (age appropriate of course) at kindergarten. I was one of them. How did I learn to read? Well since we did not have cable TV much less VCR's, DVD players and whatnot, in the olden days of the 70s, we relied on good old fashioned reading to and with your children. ANY parent who asks me tips on how to help their child learn to read, will ALWAYS get this answer from me.

And as an educator, we are ALWAYS first in the line of fire when a child does not meet expectations. Frankly, I am tired of it. If a parent thinks this is the end-all be-all, I would like a refund for my degree so I can go into a different line of work. I'll be damned if I am going to invest money in a program like this when I know for a fact that parents can teach children how to read all by themselves with a bit of time and effort.

(And no it is not PG hormones getting to me )

Re: Yay or Nah: Your Baby Can Read

Posted by Goldi0218

There is a natural developmental progression to acquiring academic skills. Reading is an academic skill. Not one educator that I can think of would dispute that. There may be no harm, but I cannot think of one advantage unless your child's destiny and the G-d's above have predetermined that the child is Harvard bound. In which case, there are plenty of Harvard grads who read at the same pace as the rest of us.

I will say this, from the time I student taught MANY years ago until now, I have met many children in both the general education and special education settings whose parents' expectations exceed their capabilities. These children often feel as if they have disappointed their parents, appear anxious and yes are socially awkward. That is my experience alone so I won't comment on the population at large, but, IMO, I think programs like this, could start a parent and child down a road like this. I'm sure I'll get flamed for this, but I've been teaching long enough to form this opinion.

Id rather see my kids play with developmental toys. There are plenty of children who recognize symbols and letters through life experience and are fluent readers (age appropriate of course) at kindergarten. I was one of them. How did I learn to read? Well since we did not have cable TV much less VCR's, DVD players and whatnot, in the olden days of the 70s, we relied on good old fashioned reading to and with your children. ANY parent who asks me tips on how to help their child learn to read, will ALWAYS get this answer from me.

And as an educator, we are ALWAYS first in the line of fire when a child does not meet expectations. Frankly, I am tired of it. If a parent thinks this is the end-all be-all, I would like a refund for my degree so I can go into a different line of work. I'll be damned if I am going to invest money in a program like this when I know for a fact that parents can teach children how to read all by themselves with a bit of time and effort.

(And no it is not PG hormones getting to me )

Re: Yay or Nah: Your Baby Can Read

Posted by mommyIam

Posted by Goldi0218

There is a natural developmental progression to acquiring academic skills. Reading is an academic skill. Not one educator that I can think of would dispute that. There may be no harm, but I cannot think of one advantage unless your child's destiny and the G-d's above have predetermined that the child is Harvard bound. In which case, there are plenty of Harvard grads who read at the same pace as the rest of us.

I will say this, from the time I student taught MANY years ago until now, I have met many children in both the general education and special education settings whose parents' expectations exceed their capabilities. These children often feel as if they have disappointed their parents, appear anxious and yes are socially awkward. That is my experience alone so I won't comment on the population at large, but, IMO, I think programs like this, could start a parent and child down a road like this. I'm sure I'll get flamed for this, but I've been teaching long enough to form this opinion.

Id rather see my kids play with developmental toys. There are plenty of children who recognize symbols and letters through life experience and are fluent readers (age appropriate of course) at kindergarten. I was one of them. How did I learn to read? Well since we did not have cable TV much less VCR's, DVD players and whatnot, in the olden days of the 70s, we relied on good old fashioned reading to and with your children. ANY parent who asks me tips on how to help their child learn to read, will ALWAYS get this answer from me.

And as an educator, we are ALWAYS first in the line of fire when a child does not meet expectations. Frankly, I am tired of it. If a parent thinks this is the end-all be-all, I would like a refund for my degree so I can go into a different line of work. I'll be damned if I am going to invest money in a program like this when I know for a fact that parents can teach children how to read all by themselves with a bit of time and effort.

(And no it is not PG hormones getting to me )

Great point! No flames from me!
I completely agree with you on many points, but why can't a dvd be a deveopmental toy?
I'm not an child educator, I barely know anything about child develpment ... but I would really like an understanding.

Re: Yay or Nah: Your Baby Can Read

It could be, but a DVD can also "zombify" a kid too. Why not read a book? I read a handful of the same books over and over again to Abby and she recognizes a handful of the words already. She loves books. She babbles and makes up her own stories with intonation and inflection - all precursors to decoding. I say "decoding" because it is easier to determine decoding than comprehension skills IMO.

I've had full grown adults come speak to me about how to improve their writing skills and they have college degrees. I tell them to read the New York Times. A lot of who we are as people comes from everyday life experience.

Message edited 8/15/2010 10:30:08 PM.