This video is designed for children as young as 3 months
old and up to 4 years of age. Its goal is to help children learn to read while
their minds are still quite young. The copy I am reviewing is the original video
— there exists an extended version of this video that is 30 minutes long
and is entitled Volume 1, and a second video has been released (Volume 2).
I don't believe that this video alone will make your child (or baby) a reader.
Although it is carefully designed to be multi-sensory (kids are encouraged to
act out the words, for example), extension beyond the television will be vital.
Perhaps this is why The Infant Learning Company has produced a book (sold separately)
that complements the video. Also, be aware that children are really quite different,
and some will easily catch on to reading words and many others will lack interest.
Exposure to the written word at a very young age can do no harm, however. In
fact, it can only be helpful. My concern is that a parent may pass judgments
of intelligence and perhaps compare their child unfairly with another child
of the same age. The truth of the matter is, a child's interest and his/her
learning style are likely the biggest factors involved in whether there will
be any "success" at recognizing words.
My three children were all taught their letters (both uppercase and lowercase)
at 1 year of age, and all caught on very fast. Next came phonics at 2 years
of age. And for my first child, basic reading at 3 years. The point is, I do
believe that there is no harm in introducing reading concepts at an early age.
In fact, as long as there is absolutely no pressure involved, I think it is
a positive thing. Learning the basic pre-reading skills at an earlier age than
average has opened up a lot of wonderful play activities and experiences for
my kids. The method used in this video is not — it introduces whole words
to children before the alphabet. As such, I do believe that some children will
respond to these whole words and actually recognize them. My concern is that
these are too high expectations. I think it would be best to go into this "program"
without the expectations that your baby will be reading, but rather that your
baby/toddler/preschooler will be learning some basic concepts that will help
encourage literacy.
The video is like a well-done home video. A word fills the screen and is read
aloud while an arrow moves under the word (much like a finger would) from left
to right. Then, an illustration of the word occurs. For example, the word "clap"
appears, after which a child claps his hands and your child is encouraged to
do same. After a number of such illustrations, there is a song break. "Head
and Shoulders" is done with words and video, with arrows pointing to parts
of the body, and kids pointing to their heads, shoulders, knees, and toes. "If
You're Happy and You Know It" is another fun song in the video. Taking
song breaks really helps to hold a child's interest.
My younger kids really enjoy the video, and ask to see it again often. I think
it is very helpful in impressing upon children that written words are not just
scribbles, but rather they have real meaning and can be associated with objects,
actions, people, and so forth. It also reinforces left-to-right sequencing when
reading words.
The video features real people and objects (not cartoons), including a number
of friendly kids. The voices vary and can be a woman, man, or child, and are
very clear.
The featured words include some rather expected ones like "nose",
"clap", "yes", and "no" and some I personally
find to be a bit odd to include in a video for babies (for example, "orangutan",
"hippopotamus", and "antelope"). I'm guessing the creators wanted to include
a wide range of words and felt that they shouldn't be limited to the simplest
ones. Many words have the suffix "ing" presumably because we tend
to talk to babies and toddlers in terms of "eating", "climbing",
and "jumping". Words are repeated in a different order in the second
half of the video which makes a lot of sense.
The video has inspired me to create a home movie similar to Your Baby
Can Read for my kids, and I got my older children involved in the planning.
What a great project! You can use index cards with words you would like your
child to learn to recognize, and then videotape an illustrative scene or object.
My son had some great ideas to illustrate concepts like thin and thick, and
others. Use Your Baby Can Read video as a guide or model.
You may want to check out the link to the developers' web site above for more
information, and for some interesting suggestions in Dr. Titzer's Tips column.
