Need Input: Your Baby Can Read Program

I am a grandmother of a boy who is now 14 months on the 17th. I have been using the videos since he was 6 months. He knows boby parts already and sings the songs some words come out right. they are the best teaching aid of their kind. I highly recommend them. My grandson watches them every day twice a day. It also teaches attention span. I think something well needed. Books from the program help with memory. Best thing around. Buy them and use them. You will see a happy child.

I agree with the other posters....your son is way too young to learning to read. This is the time when you should be instilling in him a love a books by reading to him. There is no advantage to your 2yo knowing how to read. Let him just be a toddler. Show him shapes, colors, letters, etc.

hi N. ,
agreed w/ 1st comment .
children need help about age 10 years old ... that is when they get lost or full steam ahead .
T.

I haven't tried it. I feel like it doesn't put the child ahead, at Kindergarten and 1st grade all the kids catch up anyway. In my opinion it's a waste of money. I would wait until the child is about 4 or 5 and work with them. I think people are pushing their kids way to young a age.

I hope that didn't come off as rude.

.

I tend to agree with the other posters....I'm sure there's nothing "magical" about it. I think your time and energy would be better spent on reading to your son everyday. Use the $$$ you would spend on the program to buy some super books every week this summer. When my son was that age, every night he enjoyed picking 3 books to read and he always added a "bonus book" to the list. They do like to read the same books over and over. Reading to him will teach him LOTS: vocabulary, word order, voice tones, etc. The best thing you can do at this age, IMO, is to instill a love of books and reading in him. Read every day and join your local library, if you haven't already. Point out things to him like street signs, store signs, etc. when you are out and about. They pick it up very quickly. Enjoy!

HI... I bought this program when my son was 10 months olds. i got the main piece to the program (the dvds & the first set of flash cards) from amazon for $60(used - but they looked brand new). My son is now 18 months and he does not read yet, BUT, i also don't do the program exactly how instructed either. he does know all of his body parts, he LOVES animals, and can do the sounds and/or motions for elephant, cat, dog, tiger... and a bunch of other animals and i give a lot of credit to this program. Also, anytime he sees letters (like a word on your shirt for example) he starts to say random letter names and i don't work with him on that more that singing the alphabet. so there is an interest in the written word, and that was my main goal so i'm satisfied with the system. we did get him to read "Hi" a few times on the flash cards and that was when he was watching the dvd's alot but i think that was just memorization, b/c it's the first word on the tape.

The tapes are entertaining to him and i like the way they are laid out... they go through a bunch of words, and right when he starts to get distracted, it flips to a song that brings his attention right back to the tv. it looks like they did a lot of research when putting them together (as far as attention span anyway)

i really do think if done correctly, these tapes would give you the results they claim, but i also recommend you buy them at a cheaper price because if you don't use them correctly, it may see like a waste of money. I recieved 5 dvd's and the first pack of flash cards for $60 - so it's $10 a dvd, that's how i justified it. :) (someone on mamasource gave me the same advice and i'm glad i followed that part)

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw_0_12?url=search-alia...

i figured if i liked the first part, i can piece the program together as he progresses since the pieces are sold separtely on amazon.
let me know if you have any other questions about them...
Good luck,
S.

I've asked numerous friends (young and old) that are in education about doing more with my daughter in terms of flash cards, reading programs, etc. All told me to relax and enjoy her toddlerhood. The scariest response I got was a study done where kids that learned to read early (super early!) had less success in school as they got older. Something about learning one way that didn't work for other subjects or as they got older. So they went from "little darlings" that their parents showed off to kids that were barely passing by 3rd grade.

Relax, enjoy your 2 year old, bring out the Playdoh, crayons and books and have fun making a mess together:)

Hello N.. There was actually a post about this on the whattoexpect.com website in the last week under Expecting in September 2009. One of the ladies was trying to decide whether or not to get it for her toddler. From the responses to her post, I came to the conclusion that the program works but it's not worth the price tag. A lot of the mothers stated that they were able to accomplish the same results without purchasing the actual program. I'm not totally familiar with everything involved with this method but one mother cited a study where introducing your child to videos with a lot of excitement and stimulation at an early age when the brain's functions were still developing was shown to actually cause issues such as ADHD. I'm not sure how much I would trust that study or how much back up there was for the data but the theory does sound possible. Kids these days seem to watch more tv and there seems to be more diagnoses of ADHD, autism, and other similar disorders these days. It might just be a coincidence though. I know there were some other interesting responses to her post though so check it out if you get a chance. Hope that helps.

Dear N.,
I have a 3 year old daughter and I bought her the Program almost 6 months ago, and yes, I think it is worth every penny. The kit comes with not only the videos but flashcards and workbooks to keep your child interested. I would highly recommend Your Baby Can Read and I hope your child learns and enjoys it as much as my daughter has. Good Luck!
Sincerely,
C. S

N.
My son is a little over three years old and when he was two I like you saw the ad for YBCR . . . I bought in to the progam and got all the DVDs and books and well . . . those books and dvds got sold in a yard sale a few months later. It's NOT worth the money - you can do EXACTLY what they do without buying all their stuff. The program is basically based on repitition, multiple stimuli being directed at your child at once (ie - seeing the word in front of them AND hearing it over and over at the same time) and memorization (if you REALLY watch the ad - which I did AFTER the fact- most of the kids aren't even really looking at the words that are being put in front of them, they have just memorized the color or the length or the look of the word and they are just repeating it back). I wouldn't even call it reading. I would save your money and stick with what you are doing but be careful. I learned that the more you push "learning" on a child the more they resist but if you do what you're doing now and just read to them for fun, have books available and just concentrate on learning a single word for a week and then start a new word the following week, they are more apt to see it as fun and actually want to do it. My son's vocabulary is amazing - larger then any other 3 year old I've met but he still can only "read" a few words here or there and it's more recognition then reading . . . My 18 month old is already making sentences because my son and I are always talking to her and repeating words for her and phrases until she gets it (much like the program : ) ) I think reading just comes naturally when they are ready and if you give them the right start - which you seem to be doing, it all comes together. Hope this helps.
T. C.

N.,
I did not try the YBCR program, but I researched it to see if it was something that would benefit my son. There are a lot of negative responses on the internet regarding it. The majority state that children over 1 or 1/2 tend to find it boring. A few of my friends had success with the How to Teach Your Baby to Read program that is based in PA. I believe it is developed by the National Institute for Human Development and Advancement. That program uses 5 flash cards a week, starting with simple words then combining multiple words, then phrases. Once the child completes all the cards, he/she should be able to read the book that is shipped in the kit. Although my friends' kids had a success with it, my son thought it was more fun to play with the cards than learn them. I guess it depends on the child and their interests.

The whole purpose of these programs is to get your child to recognize words. You can accomplish the same thing by writing 5 words a week on flash cards (or buying them) in large fonts and doing quick reps once or twice each day. Personally, I think you are doing the right thing by reading to your child. I did this with my son and he seems to be developing fine now at age 5. Best wishes.

Got it for my almost 2 year old about 3 months ago and I LOVE it!!! I feel it is well worth the money. My son was 9 weeks premature and was soooo behind in everything. Was barely takling up until we got the dvd's and books from your baby can read now he says and comprehends sooooo much!!! He asks to watch "the babies" all day long and loves them. I highly recommend this product
H.

Hi!

I purchased this program in January. I also purchased their language programs, Spanish and German. I have to say the program seems that it would work great if you have the discipline to watch the DVD every day like it states you should do. We watched it every day for 4 or 5 days and then my daughter was bored with it and we stuck to reading the books that came with the program. I need to get the flashcards out, those I think are very useful too, but again, it is is my fault that I haven't had the discipline to set aside time each day to work with it. I did buy a set of books they offered to me over the phone when I purchased the program, I believe it was $30 for 15 books. These books are just regular kids books but they are great. One is a 911 book that has buttons and teaches the child how to dial 911. My daughter loves the books. I think if you have the money to spend, it is worth a try, but if money is an issue then don't do it. I don't see a problem with buying the older program from your friend, how could be much different? But I hope you don't have to pay more than half the cost of the new program.

As far as the language programs go, they are not worth it. It is a CD you listen to with your kid where the person is just saying the English word then the Spanish word and it is not very interesting at all for a 2 yr old. My daughter is not going to sit and listen to a methodical voice over and over.

Good luck with your decision!
~A.

Dear N.:
I used the "How to Teach your baby to read" by Glenn Doman. It works wonderfully. I was excited about it and my children knew it. Sometimes they would be apathetic and you think that they are not learning but they are. Be careful, they will get use to you doing this and they will want to learn more. My first read at 2 yr. 9 mos, my second at 4 yr. and my third by 5 years. I made them books that they carried around and I made flash cards. I also did, "How to teach your baby Math", which was excellent because the children learned the concept of large numbers very fast. It takes a lot of time to make the bits but it is worth it to see your child understand and have confidence when he goes to school. Enjoy this precious time, it goes to fast.
E.