Reading is the most enjoyable part of our day. Well, mostly. Not when my twin daughters fight over who gets to turn the page or what book we'll read. But when they really get into a story and laugh and point at the pictures, it's perfect and just how I envisioned my days as a Mama.
So, when I was asked by the Parent Bloggers Network to review Your Baby Can Read Starter DVD and Volume 1 DVD I was pretty excited at the concept. I still am, but can't say that my daughters can read now after watching the videos. They cannot.
Still, this DVD set -- and I received the entire set -- is intriguing.
I remember well my teacher friends putting index cards all over their houses labeling everyday objects like door, window and chair. I knew they saw the value of children seeing the words with the objects to spark early reading. And, as soon as I get my act together I fully intend to do the same thing.
Your Baby Can Read videos are kind of the same thing except it uses the television as the medium to try and teach babies to read. The videos were not the most popular in our house, but at this age not many are going to be. They did watch it a few times and liked the animals they saw at the zoo.
I, personally, felt like the images and words should have been together on the video more than they were. And, the pace seemed a little fast.
But, I am no expert. If I had these videos when the girls were younger I would have used them more because I do feel they would help, especially with word recognition and language development. I limit television in our house to one half-hour video per day or 10 minutes of Elmo on Sesame Street. Unless I'm desperate and it's raining outside. Then they can watch a little more than that, but not much more.
Perhaps we didn't watch the videos enough and that's why I don't see any signs that they would work. Then again, I'm not sure a video should teach a child to read. That's my job as a parent.
But, these videos are certainly interesting, especially if you're looking for some interesting videos besides Baby Einstein. And they would most certainly be better than an hour of Sesame Street, at least for a baby under 2.
What I will RAVE about, though, are the flash cards that came with the set. These sliding word cards, with a word on front and another on the back, open up to reveal the word's image in real life photos. They are so wonderful that for Easter my girls grandmother bought them the entire set. In fact, check out this video of a 25-month-old girl reading. I do not doubt these cards will help if used often and sparingly -- like a handful at a time for a couple weeks. Then move on to the next handful, etc.
My girls love, love, love these cards and I have to admit they are really special. Much more special than index cards. They are fun to play with and learn with and I can see these helping teach my girls word recognition easily -- when we aren't so busy, you know, throwing tantrums and such.
Check out the site and see if it's something you or a friend might be into, but definitely consider ordering the flash cards. I'd be curious to know if any of you try it out so please report back to me if you do.
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9 comments:
Thanks for the review. I have one of the DVDs that my mom got for my son (now 17 months), but he's not very interested in it. I saw a commercial today for the whole package and the intro price was attractive; the full price not so much, especially considering your review. Also, as my wife said, we learned to read just fine without these newfangled DVD programs. :)
Just as a heads up, you are supposed to view the video in it's entirety one to two times per day. You should also incorporate the cards whenever possible and be reading to them besides. The reviewer admitted to not viewing as much as advised. My 15 month old daughter is now able to recognize six words from the starter DVD after only two weeks. I hope that others who read this review look to other reviews before making a decision.
I bought the set for my daughter for her 2nd birthday she already recognizes words. I know because when we read together she points to words like cats and dog and a few others and its only been a month. also we were at walmart the other day and she pointed to the word cats on the side of a kitty liter bag no picture present and said mommy cats. this set works if you follow the directions and use the DVD flash cards appropriately. she has only recognized a few words but they do state in the instuctions that it takes about 6 months for a child to learn the 1st 50 words. I would think that if your asked to review a product you should follow the Directions otherwise your missleading consumers on a product that could be and is benificial. shame on you.
I bought the entire set for my daughter and for my home daycare. My daughter and my niece love to watch the DVD's. They watch it more than twice a day, which is what is recommended. My daughter can't read the words yet on her own (it's only been about 2 weeks) but she can associate the words with what they go to, such as her nose, mouth, or when they say arms up. I had one little boy come to my daycare for one day. He watched the DVD once and then we pulled out the flash cards and the cards that have the picture attached. Without looking at the picture, he recognized two words. That was after watching the DVD ONCE! I really do believe this program works, but you do have to use everything together, not just watching the DVD. I'm very pleased with it all.
thanks for the review. I have seen other reviews of people who say the commercial is biased but it feels like some of the reviews are biased too. They are by people who people these videos only teacher children to memorizes when I've seen kids learn their alphabet with the videos making it more understandable. And this program won't work 100% of the time, they ever say that in the commercial. They say "if your children responds and is interested, keep focusing of the DVD."
I just enjoyed someone who wrote a review that told the truth, not how they hated or loved it.
You can also buy these from Amazon and they are cheaper, especially if you can find some of the used one. I am interested in the flash cards. Good review. It is possible according to several websites to alter the brain growth by how you teach a child. There are different learning styles that come naturally to different children. some children learn better in the style of this DVD and some don't. Due to differences in learning styles, it isn't going to work for every child just the same as any other approach wouldnt work for every child. The big concern all the experts have is about rote memorization at such a young age, it is unknown how it affects a person long term. The effect may be negligible, but no one will know for quite some time.
DON'T BUY THIS VIDEOS OR FLASH CARDS! JUST WAIT FOR THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM TO TEACH YOUR CHILDREN!
I thought the price was steep at first but after the video presentation (not the learning DVD)- I realized it was all worth it! And money well spent! Aleka (his daughter in the video) is a testament to his system and overall good parenting! He stresses interaction and fun- Both my wife and I interact with my 18 month old son while we watch the video- he got bored quickly since he recognizes the words- we have moved on to the first 3 video's (but will go back for review)- he can "read" I think memorize at this point about 10 words- in only the first week! He looks at the word and says it- sometimes while watching the video he says it before the video does...He really likes to play with the flash cards...I will give it 6 months and I bet he will be reading me his children's books by the time he is 2...Oh- I stress the phonetic sounds of the words- so he is learning phonics at the same time...Look at the system as an approach to learning- interaction and fun....
I bought the entire program several weeks ago and am thrilled with the progress so far. This is NOT a program where you plop your child in front of a TV for hours and they miraculously learn how to read after just a day or two. This program stresses parental involvement, watching the videos with your children, acting out the different parts of the songs with them, playing with the flash cards and books. One of the suggestions was to go to a local toy store and buy the little plastic animals and making a game of putting the plastic animals with the flash card counterpart. Yes, as parents, it is our job to begin the learning process with our children. Who says we can't utilize a tool like this to help us? Our parents used what was available to them with us and theirs before them. The price is minimal if it helps my daughter to create good learning habits early. She has been doing the program for 2 weeks and is visibly proud of herself every time she does an action on a card correctly. We have made this program fun for her so she seems to really enjoy doing it.
The concept is sound. I appreciate the 'idea' of it. However, the execution is poorly done. The quality of the book and sliding cards is extremely poor. Especially since this product is intended to be used with babies starting between 3-6 months old. I doubt they tested this product on actual babies or toddlers. Within 1 month my daughter, through normal use, has destroyed the sliding word cards, and broken the spine of the book. I am seriously disappointed that YBCR customer service won't even work with me on getting replacements of these items. I was basically told, "your trial period ended on this date, sorry, but we can't/won't help you." I'm not pleased at all with the quality of the product, nor the level of 'customer service'. I would advise spending your $200 on something else for your child. This product isn't worth $200 and their customer service is subpar for the price of the product.
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