I have always been highly skeptical of the “Your Baby Can Read” system. First, because I can’t think of a single good reason for a baby, or even a preschooler, to be able to read. There is no evidence to back up the claim that children who learn to read at an early age do better in school as they get older. There are simply too many variables. Children who find it easy to learn to read may just find school easier as well (in other words, they’re naturally smarter than average). They may have parents who have nurtured a love of reading and passed that on to their kids, or they may have a home environment that places a strong emphasis on learning. For the commercials to claim that teaching a 9 month old to read means the kid will later excel in school is, well, misleading. Their claim that children have a “window of opportunity” for learning language is only partly true. Reading is not language, and a child who learns to read at six won’t have any harder of a time than a child who learns at four. If you want to teach your child Spanish or French, by all means start as early as possible. With reading, there’s no rush!
Considering the system costs $200, it seems like a waste. I’d rather spend that $200 on an excellent library of children’s books to be read again and again. Spend it on art supplies, a membership to a local museum, or set some of it aside to use for future library fees (if you’re like me and always take the books back a day or two late!). If you want your child to have an easy time learning to read, there are many more enjoyable ways. The simplest is to spend time every day cuddled up on the couch with some fun books. Sing songs. Color and draw together, and talk to your child as much as possible. My daughter could sing the ABC’s by the time she was 18 months old, could write the ABC’s when she was three, and could read the “Dick and Jane” books by the time she was four. She’s ten now, and still loves to read. My six year old son, on the other hand, is slightly behind his peers in reading and writing. He just isn’t interested, even though he does love to be read to. All kids are different.
And anyway, why would you want to plunk your kid down to watch DVDs when interacting with them is so much better on many levels? Unless you’re the kind of parent who needs those bragging rights of “my toddler can read!” I would save the money.
I think this has some well thought out questions and criticisms about the program.