[Steph-Jason]

This weekend I saw an infomercial on a series "Teach your chil to read" it has flash cards, dvd's & books & babies on the informercial- I think the youngest was 9 mo were able to read a card labeled hand, belly, head, etc & point to the appropriate body part or mimic the action (exp point). I just looked online to buy it but its $200... can't really do that right now... Does anyone have any suggestions on any books/ study materials to help with this? M is 14 months now & I read to her several times daily, would like to start doing a bit more.

[mondk]

I saw that too and it is very tempting! I just use picture books with the word under the picture for now. You can buy flash cards/word cards at WalMart and I guess that would be a good place to start! If you do go ahead and purchase the product, let me know how it goes!

Blessings, Michelle

[OakShannon]

Originally Posted by Steph-Jason

This weekend I saw an infomercial on a series "Teach your chil to read" it has flash cards, dvd's & books & babies on the informercial- I think the youngest was 9 mo were able to read a card labeled hand, belly, head, etc & point to the appropriate body part or mimic the action (exp point). I just looked online to buy it but its $200... can't really do that right now... Does anyone have any suggestions on any books/ study materials to help with this? M is 14 months now & I read to her several times daily, would like to start doing a bit more.

Just my opinion of course . . . I think it's hooey. A waste of money. Our kids have much more important developmental fish to fry right now. And they are a long way away from needing or being ready to read.

Read to her. Sing to her. Do silly rhyming songs with her. Let her see YOU read. Take her to the library story hour. Show her that books are fun. That's all you need to do.

Earlier is not always better. Sometimes it can do more harm than good. I promise you . . . she won't be any better off long term because of those tapes. There is NO proven evidence that they work and a lot of evidence that pushing kids before they are ready is harmful.

[bromanchik]

Originally Posted by OakShannon

Just my opinion of course . . . I think it's hooey. A waste of money. Our kids have much more important developmental fish to fry right now. And they are a long way away from needing or being ready to read.

Read to her. Sing to her. Do silly rhyming songs with her. Let her see YOU read. Take her to the library story hour. Show her that books are fun. That's all you need to do.

Earlier is not always better. Sometimes it can do more harm than good. I promise you . . . she won't be any better off long term because of those tapes. There is NO proven evidence that they work and a lot of evidence that pushing kids before they are ready is harmful.

Can I just say Amen! What children need to do at this stage is learn how to play, to use their imaginations. Flash cards will only instill a dislike of learning. I ditto everything this poster said.

[052001]

We didn't start teaching my daughter to read until close to kindergarten. Like the others have said, just read to your child often. That's the best thing you can do. I started reading to my daughter many times a day since the day she was born. To start, you might just want to point to pictures and identify them for her. When she gets a bit older, point to each word as you read it.

When she becomes ready to read, the BOB series books are good to start with. They are very simple.

[Cjmeck]

Originally Posted by OakShannon

Just my opinion of course . . . I think it's hooey. A waste of money. Our kids have much more important developmental fish to fry right now. And they are a long way away from needing or being ready to read.

Read to her. Sing to her. Do silly rhyming songs with her. Let her see YOU read. Take her to the library story hour. Show her that books are fun. That's all you need to do.

Earlier is not always better. Sometimes it can do more harm than good. I promise you . . . she won't be any better off long term because of those tapes. There is NO proven evidence that they work and a lot of evidence that pushing kids before they are ready is harmful.

Thank you!
Edited to add: This is what we did with our 7yo son. And he's reading at the 4-5th grade level now. So following his lead, and exposing him to reading worked fine.

[mommytoEli]

if you are REALLY dying to start teaching her to read...you can do it yourself...start with the letters. make flashcards, get a puzzle, something with letters, and go over the letters and sounds first. our 21 mnth old LOVES letters and thinks he knows them....it is very cute. he will point to a letter and shout "M" or "S"...and it never is. lol. but it is still a crucial point in developing his letter recognition bc he recognizes what a letter looks like and knows some names of letters. he gets that each letter has a name...just hasn't matched them up yet. he REALLY likes his leapfrog magnetic fridge magnet with letters and sounds, and the leapfrog alphabet video. there are also matching flashcards that are very visually stimulating he seems to enjoy. i'm not pushing him, just providing him with something he thinks is interesting.

now, eli, started reading a little after turning 3. i never invested a dime in a special reading program for him. he had the same leapfrog things i mentioned above....and a leapster computer. other than that, we did look for things(letters, words) in our environment and we would talk about them, point things out, etc. but it was mostly those leapfrog items that helped him out. a funny- i kept telling dh eli could read. dh didn't "really" believe me. we went on vacation and dh took eli into the family restroom to change his diaper...there dh was changing him when eli said, "daddy, what is a n-a-p-k-i-n napkin?" dh just about fell over bc there right above his head was the "feminine napkin dispenser." lol. since he started reading, i haven't pushed him. the teacher in me would LOVE to teach him sight words and get him going, but i honestly am trying to take it very slowly with him bc i don't want to push him so hard he gets burned out before school even starts. but he CRIES for school work...so it is hard. i also agree earlier is not always better, but i don't think it is necessarily harmful to give your child a little something if they genuinely seem interested....otherwise they will learn to read in time.

[RhondaJ]

I just want to say that I do have the program and I think it is wonderful! I am not trying to push my daughter, however; I can put one of the dvds in and she loves it! I put a dvd of something else in and she won't watch it at all! I don't allow tv with her...except of course these dvd's 2x a day! We don't do the flash cards because like I said...I'm not trying to push her! I do know that she will do whatever it is on the screen before they even say the word and for the ones she can say...she says them! She has a vocab of at least 20 words and she knows her head, eyes, ears, nose, mouth, belly, hands, feet, and says some of her ABC's. She will be a year next month but that is because we sing the ABC's a couple of times a day, read books, play with the leapfrog toys, etc. I am a firm believer in the program, however; you can do the same from just books, etc. My daughter has been advanced since she was 2 months old (according to the doctor)lol...I just want to keep her stimulated and make sure she is happy!