will your baby read by 11 months?

pechezncreme06 · July 2009

I am watching The Doctors on tv right now and they were just talking about this program parents can do at home with their LO that teaches kids to start reading early. the "author" of the program says that he started teaching his 3 month old to read and by 11 months could read almost anything. They even showed clips to prove that these kids can actually read. (I was blown away.)

What do you think about this? Would you ever consider trying this?

browneyes_24b · July 2009

I think it's memorization, not so much "reading."

JNicMTek · July 2009

I've seen infomercials about some program like this (I watch infomercials in the hope of falling asleep, but it never works). It seems like an interesting program, but I wouldn't buy it.

BabyBowensMommy · July 2009

I saw this too! I thought it was very interesting. We will probably be looking into this. I don't believe in pushing my LO too fast or too far, but I really think it would be neat and make it easier on children if they learn earlier!

I taught my little sister how to read by the time she was 3 back 22 years ago! She was always ahead in school.

water-fairy · July 2009

I'll be busy teaching my baby 3 different languages (mine, DH's and English) from day one... I think he can wait to learn the reading part.

jenna0627 · July 2009

browneyes_24b:
I think it's memorization, not so much "reading."

I agree.

JCsMomma · July 2009

This is JMHO - but no I wouldn't do this. Why on earth would an 11 month old need to read? Seems more like something parents can brag about to me... I just feel like there are many more productive things I can do with my baby (play! read TO them! talk to them!) that encourages learning in a natural way. I don't think spending hours a day with flashcards and videos is all that great of an idea. Let's let babies just be babies, and worry about reading when they get to an appropriate age.

rocknrollmommy · July 2009

this is the reason i wish i could be a SAHM. my mom was and constantly read to me. anything she could get her hands on was fair game. she always tells me the story of how i was 2 years old and we were driving and i said "mom, does g-a-s-o-l-i-n-e spell gasoline?" she said she about had a wreck. i believe it does work...

lsvilpa · July 2009

No, no way.

LeelaH · July 2009

JCsMomma:

This is JMHO - but no I wouldn't do this. Why on earth would an 11 month old need to read? Seems more like something parents can brag about to me... I just feel like there are many more productive things I can do with my baby (play! read TO them! talk to them!) that encourages learning in a natural way. I don't think spending hours a day with flashcards and videos is all that great of an idea. Let's let babies just be babies, and worry about reading when they get to an appropriate age.

This. And it is all just memorization anyway. Plus, my daughter won't even sit still long enough for me to read her a story (unless it is right before bed)...she certainly isn't going to sit there and memorize flashcards.

madameladauphine · July 2009

Yes, and we already have the "Your Baby Can Read" set. It was a gift, Thank God, because it was expensive!! My girlfriend is doing this with her son who is 2 1/2 and it's working quite well for them. I don't see the point in doing it at 11mos though.

anarivera · July 2009

JCsMomma:

This is JMHO - but no I wouldn't do this. Why on earth would an 11 month old need to read? Seems more like something parents can brag about to me... I just feel like there are many more productive things I can do with my baby (play! read TO them! talk to them!) that encourages learning in a natural way. I don't think spending hours a day with flashcards and videos is all that great of an idea. Let's let babies just be babies, and worry about reading when they get to an appropriate age.

Exactly! What is the benefit to push your baby? I can wait a couple of years (And I love reading!)

annibes · July 2009

I saw that episode back in the winter sometime and I remember the docs all giving this guy the side eye. It's a crock. Kids that young do not have the cognitive skills they need for real reading. You'd be better off spending your money on books and your time reading together.

ntnylizard · July 2009

Reading at 11 months? I know kids who barely talk, going on two years old.

Do I want my kid to read early? Yes. I could, and I truly believe the early start benefitted me in a number of ways. But I'm with the PP who says let's focus on other developmental opportunities at that age.

mamaofliam · July 2009

JCsMomma:
This is JMHO - but no I wouldn't do this. Why on earth would an 11 month old need to read? Seems more like something parents can brag about to me... I just feel like there are many more productive things I can do with my baby (play! read TO them! talk to them!) that encourages learning in a natural way. I don't think spending hours a day with flashcards and videos is all that great of an idea. Let's let babies just be babies, and worry about reading when they get to an appropriate age.

Absolutely! I think parents try to rush their kids to learn things before it is important and likely they will miss out on learning other things that they do need to be learning at that age.

PoetSorrow · July 2009

I know someone who has used the Your Baby Can Read very successfully with 2 children and we do intend to use it on this baby as well. It isn't all memorization. You can clearly see two year old children reading full text books after using the program.

I don't consider it pushing however. I could sit down and teach my child how to play candy land or I can teach them how to read and kick start an interest in books and language which will be a valuable tool all of their lives. Plus having your child be able to communicate their needs early on seems like a womderful thing to me.

poopteen · July 2009

Absolutely not. I was a literacy tutor for 3rd graders with Americorps in Chicago and saw so many kids who were "taught to read" with memorization that ended up being so far behind everyone else in their class because the comprehension and phonetics just weren't there. They'd go into school having been talked up like they were so good at reading only to end up failing the subject and having horrible self esteem in that area. They were the hardest kids to get to come around. I'd much rather my children have the solid foundation they gain from understanding letters, phonics and grammar.

dottymobo · July 2009

Man, I read "Baby, Inc." and remember that the author took this apart (by showing research) but I don't remember what she said about it.

But I wouldn't do it anyways- don't see a point, and do see a rip-off.

itsmee2005 · July 2009

I work in a Developmental Disabilities Agency as a Developmental Therapist. I am ALL for this. 11 months, might be a little quick, but I am definitely for starting around 1 to 1 1/2. The most important thing I think ALL parents need to know is this:

The most information a person will ever learn AND retain in their entire life is from birth to age 7. This applies to education, reading, language (and learning different languages), relationship skills and interaction, etc.

I see ZERO issues with starting reading and other educational things young. You can still have lots of FUN and teach them things and how to read. I think parents should more fully take advantage of the time they have available to them to teach their young children and help them learn about the world that surrounds them.

With all the children and adults I work with that have disabilities, we can teach the most in the least amount of time to the kids who fall in the age 3-7 category (we don't work in the infant/toddler program). Time and time again I catch myself wishing we had started with some of our clients at much younger ages because it becomes much harder after that birth- age 7 window is gone to teach them and have them retain what we teach.

dottymobo · July 2009

itsmee2005:
I work in a Developmental Disabilities Agency as a Developmental Therapist. I am ALL for this. 11 months, might be a little quick, but I am definitely for starting around 1 to 1 1/2. The most important thing I think ALL parents need to know is this:

The most information a person will ever learn AND retain in their entire life is from birth to age 7. This applies to education, reading, language (and learning different languages), relationship skills and interaction, etc.

I see ZERO issues with starting reading and other educational things young. You can still have lots of FUN and teach them things and how to read. I think parents should more fully take advantage of the time they have available to them to teach their young children and help them learn about the world that surrounds them.

With all the children and adults I work with that have disabilities, we can teach the most in the least amount of time to the kids who fall in the age 3-7 category (we don't work in the infant/toddler program). Time and time again I catch myself wishing we had started with some of our clients at much younger ages because it becomes much harder after that birth- age 7 window is gone to teach them and have them retain what we teach.

Just so you know, this thread really isn't about when you'll start teaching your kid to read. It's about using a particular, expensive, program to have your kid reading by 11 months old.

I agree to early teaching, but think that it should be a part of everyday life, not a program, and I think that this allows you to keep tabs on how your child is progressing and watch them for difficulties of warning signs at the same time.

afg · July 2009

browneyes_24b:
I think it's memorization, not so much "reading."

I agree with this. There is no way an 11 month old can read.

bwralc · July 2009

I'm not sure if it's this particular product your talking about but a family member had her daughter reading before she was a year old and it definitely wasn't memorization b/c she was reading full out books for kids in second grade outloud from cover to cover. There is no way she could have memorized it all.

This does not mean that I agree with the program, but I know that kids that young can learn to read etc. by seeing it myself.

cswinkler · July 2009

I don't know about this program but just know that I prefer my children not learn how to read thru memorization. I just remember when my dd was just starting to read and her and a cousin that were the same age. You could really tell a difference in the way they were both taught to read. The cousin that read from memorization had a very hard time with the book and my dd flew thru it.

Blackvelvet · July 2009

I learned to read by memorization of words. This totally sucked by the time I was in school becasue if I hadn't seen that word before I had no idea what the bleep it was took me years to learn how to sound things out and read on my own. DH had the same problem we would NEVER use a program like this with out kids. We will how ever read to them and teach them just not that young.

CalinsBride · July 2009

No thanks. I think I'll let my son progress at a normal rate. My three month old should be doing normal three month old things, not getting tutored. Plenty of time for that later.

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