'Your baby can read' DVD's

Oh don't even start me on speeling n grammer....

This article I read last week referred to the masses of resumes big companies get on a weekly basis, and how many have the most basic mistakes it's starting to worry employers!

My GF always struggled with school and reading, so when her own daughter was showing the same signs she did everything she could to help - reading to her every night, getting tutors and further assessments. It did make things a little better but at the end of the day her DD is not going to be a scholar. It doesn't worry her so much anymore - after all my GF is successful in business and can afford to live very nicely and she left school at 14!

I've had 2 bosses in million dollar companies that didn't finish year 8, so readin and ritin isn't the be all and end all, but if you spend that precious time teaching them as only a parent can they benefit from the comfort and security and will benefit ALWAYS in the long term.

Actually, Lulu, if you're writing to people who have brain disorders, some just cannot understand misspelt words. I have HUGE amounts of difficulty when someone can't get their/they're/there correct because it changes the whole sentence and I can't understand it when incorrect. "They're dog is red" - so are they a dog and red? That doesn't make sense! Seriously, it takes me about 3-5 minutes re-reading this to realise it should be "their dog is red" and it's so annoying.

Can't read text speak either or that "k882 spk" thing gamers do. To me, a number is a number. "U going out 4 dinner" - so "u" is having dinner at 4? Or four people for dinner? Who is "U" anyway? And was that a statement or a question?

If you want to communicate you have to do so clearly. Spelling and grammar should not be an optional extra. FWIW, when I am teaching, any teenager whose grammar is so poor I cannot read it will just be told as such in a big red pen and made to do it again. (I love my big red pen... DH hates it LOL.)

I think my GF and her daughter may be dyslexic....umm second glass of wine here. From memory she could read better with peachy coloured lenses or something similar. Point being, she does have a learning difficulty but she got around it. Some kids just aren't going to find some learning easy but it doesn't mean they will fail in life. ;)

DH is very severely dyslexic too - I have to ask him what on earth he has written sometimes! It was easier for him to dictate and me to type when he wanted my input on his grammar and spelling for assignments - now he types and I check but it is so much harder, I have to wait for him to come home before I can do it. But he has told me off for trying to tell him the difference; he doesn't "have" to learn because he has a disability. Well, so do I, why should I have to learn things that other people should be doing correctly in the first place?

You'll be pleased to know Ryn, that grammar has come back in schools here. When I first started teaching we didn't teach it but now its in from Kindy onwards. My DD who is nearly 17 seems to have missed it completely though!!!

Well my GF doesn't need to worry about the written word in her business and she pays others to do the books!

I ALWAYS send letters back with spelling mistakes etc corrected. Everyone hates me for it but I cant help it *shudder

I bought the whole set of DVDs plus the books for my 10 month old baby about 4 months ago after becoming aware of them through the 9am show. My baby loves them and watches them avidly. In fact she hangs on every word they say. She also loves the songs the children sing. We can tell when she is bored of one and move her on to the next. In the set of 5 she's currently on the 4th DVD.

Whilst the DVDs have received more attention, the company states that they are only a backup to you teaching your child. They recommend you teach them facilitated by the books. She loves going through the books with me too. I sit with her each day and go through one book at least once a day.

I haven't "tested" her to see if she can read yet and I'm not going to ever. I have noticed however that she loves her books and reading and sits quietly and "reads" i.e. turns the pages of books considerately. We also sit on the computer too and I type words and she happily does this as I type up words she recognises in a large font. I swear she's totally enthralled by words. BTW We have bought her a number of DVDs including Wiggles, In the NIght Garden and the 24 Box set of Baby Einstein DVDs but none of these keep her interested for more than a few mins, nor does Sesame Street.

I believe that having a multi-faceted approach to your child's learning can't hurt as long as you vary your child's experiences and I'd prefer her to watch something like this than Sesame Street. I'd like to think that with these early experiences with words she will be confident when she does start pre-school. She's also a very active child and a very social child who has great language skills so far (she says alot of words cat, car, teeth, duck, mama and dada that I recognize). I'd also recommend a book titled "How Babies Think" a layman's book about how children learn. If you'd like to ask me any direct questions about them please don't hesitate.