You've probably seen the hype; but can babies really read?
If the answer is yes, the question becomes whether or not babies should be taught to read.
We’re talking about the popular education learning system for babies and toddlers called "Your Baby Can Read".
The "Your Baby Can Read" commercials and infomercials on television are all the rage, convincing parents by the hundreds of thousands that waiting until preschool to teach your baby to read is too late.
Robert C. Titzer, Ph.D., developed "Your Baby Can Read". Titzer’s Ph.D is in Human Performance from Indiana University.
Dr. Titzer believes that his program allows children a greater opportunity for greater success.
He explains that a child’s greatest window to learn language is from birth to age 4.
On the "Your Baby Can Read" Web site, Dr. Titzer recommends that babies can begin his system of watching DVD’s and studying flash cards as early as three months old.
Shannon Baird saw the infomercial and researched the "Your Baby Can Read" program on the Internet.
Shannon and her husband Dean have two-year-old twins, Karson and Kennedy.
She decided to buy the deluxe "Your Baby Can Read" set and received it in the mail in early September.
Shannon explained, “The way we see it is, I want to prepare them as best as possible for the real world.”
Three-year-old David Hill is a veteran of "Your Baby Can Read".
David’s grandmother and his mom have been teaching David how to read using the system for 11 months.
LaRhonda Hill, David’s mom, had her doubts at the beginning.
“I’m always the one that’s like, "It’s not going to work". I’m always the skeptical one,” said LaRhonda.
To demonstrate, LaRhonda spread several "Your Baby Can Read" flash cards on a table and asked David to bring her the card that said, "mom".
Sure enough, David chose the correct card and gave it to his mom.
The same scenario was repeated with the words turtle, and umbrella. Each time, after a minor hesitation, David gave his mother the correct card.
Now LaRhonda is a believer in "Your Baby Can Read".
“I want him to be very well-educated; I don’t want him to settle for anything,” said LaRhonda.
After watching her son choose the correct cards, LaRhonda was smiling and proud.
“Man, I don’t know, he amazes me all the time,” said LaRhonda.
However, Dr. Edward R. Christophersen, Ph.D., a Developmental Child Psychologist at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Mo., is not as impressed with the "Your Baby Can Read" program.
Dr. Christophersen said, “The American Academy of Pediatrics has taken the position that children should not watch TV below 2 years of age."
He also believes babies do not need to be on the fast track.
“Can you make a child gifted?” Dr. Christophersen raised the question and then answered it.
“You just can’t make a child gifted.” Dr. Christophersen explained.
There is one thing Dr. Christophersen liked about "Your Baby Can Read".
“If you go through the deluxe kit, it involves flash cards and things like that which involve the parents," he explained. “So, as long as the parents are with the kids the entire 30-minutes everyday, I have supported that for years."
Dr. Christophersen further explained that parents don’t need to pay the $200 retail price for the program when they can buy the exact same "Your Baby Can Read" set for half the price, or less, on ebay.
He added that there are similar, and much cheaper, flash card reading systems available in stores and in libraries.
After one month with the "Your Baby Can Read" learning system, the Baird family is struggling.
Not the kids. The parents.
“The program wants you to watch the video twice a day, wants you to read the book once a day and do the flash cards several times a day and with us being working parents it’s hard to fit that schedule," explained Shannon Baird.
Shannon did report that her daughter, Kennedy, saw the word “baby” on the video and said it before the video announcer said it.
Shannon concluded, “The bottom line is, whether they’re reading or not, when this is over we’re having good family time and they’re definitely learning."
Prices Vary for "Your Baby Can Read". The "Your Baby Can Read" learning system contains 5 DVD’s and sliding word flash cards.
On the official
"Your Baby Can Read" Web site, you can try the program for 30 days for $14.95. The purchase price is $199.95.
We checked ebay and discovered ads for the same, new "Your Baby Can Read" 5-DVD and sliding word flash card set for less than half the retail price.
We saw bids for $48, $41, and $31.
