'Your baby can read' DVD's

[New Dawn]

Ok I know this isnt what you wanted but thought that if you really wanted to give your child a head start why dont you teach a 2nd languge this will benifit him in the future...

[Indadhanu]

misskate I also had another idea, as you're talking about making connections, have you tried sign language? Shel and I are going to use sign language with Jazz, there is a thing called Tiny Talk. A friend of mine uses it.

I haven't used the "your baby can read" DVDs... IMO they are a waste of money... if that is the kind of path you wanted to take you could do exactly the same things as the DVD does, only in real life, and your DS will get the added bonus of interaction.

That said, I think that TV and computers etc can be a great tool but I think it should be incidental learning rather than instructional if that makes sense, especially at such a young age. Like watching sesame street. They're watching it cos its fun to watch and funny too, but some kids learn numbers and letters etc.

[Emma1979]

hi
i haven't had time to read responses, but just wanted to say, i got a set of BABY BUMBLEBEE DVD's for my dd, and she was talking at 14 months... and i mean talking... now at 18 months she's really more like a two and a half year old... sings the words to all sorts of songs, can say probably 200 words or more... it is unbelievable and she is miles ahead of the other kids her age it isn't funny..... this isn't meant to be a brag session, but i think the dvd's definitely helped with her vocabulary and she just loves to watch them (particularly if she is unwell, it takes her mind off things), and often says the name of the animal/object before it is said on the dvd. of course we started teaching her the name of objects around the house at around 6 months, and she has tonnes of one on one interaction and lots of reading and singing, obviously fundamental, but the dvd definitely taught her words that i didn't...

i cannot speak highly enough of teaching your baby to communicate at an early age as it has helped enormously with her happpiness and improved her frustration at not being able to express herself.

sorry, not so much about teaching to read, but on the same track perhaps??

[paradise lost]

Emma i have another one the same and she has no screen time. Gifted children don't NEED to be taught, you cannot STOP gifted children learning!

MR i think you're right to be concerned - i could read at 3, by the time i was 9 i was reading Lord of the Rings, at 11 it was Shakespeare and Orwell. My parents had to read ahead of me because all the books i enjoyed contained too-adult themes for my emotional age. My DD is beginning to read too (she'll be 3 in April) and i'm not making anything of it yet. BUT i will be insisting she's given ability-appropriate books at school OR is allowed to read her OWN choice while the rest of the class work on their learning. I went to a school which streamed for ability until i was 10 and i did fantastically. I went to a school that streamed by age at 10 and i was actually depressed, i even tried to commit suicide! If i can't find a school willing to meet DD's needs i will homeschool.

Giftedness doesn't NEED to be a problem, but it can become one if it's handled badly by educators. The most important thing is to allow him to continue his love affair with learning as unselfconsciously as possible (which is why i lie about DD's age) and try to dance ahead of him and keep his path through the system as clear as possible. For some reason a child who cannot read at age 10 is seen as a crime of the eduication system, but a child of 5 forced to read books of reading age 5 when he is capable of reading at age 10 and going nuts with boredom is just something gifted kids have to suck up and deal with.

Bx

[Indadhanu]

Oh, I remembered a quote last night that one of my lecturers at uni said (studying early childhood education lol), I wanted to post on here because I think its relevant....

"its important that we, as parents and educators, stop trying to teach children, and just let them learn"

[mrsmac]

Brilliant quote Leash, i think there are too many parents out there pushing their children and killing their inate joy of learning.

[Emma1979]

by the same token i think there are lots of parents who don't realise they need to talk to their babies and sing and teach them, instead of just going thru the motions of the day... my dd is like a sponge and so incredibly thirsty for knowledge, as soon as she could walk she would run to different objects in the house and point to them to find out their name....

i hear a lot of people questioning why their kids aren't talking yet in the 18month-2year bracket and i think to myself, well what have you done to encourage it....?? i don't believe it 'just happens', i think it has ALOT to do with their environment and how much they have been talked to. of course it will EVENTUALLY 'just happen' and kids will begin talking, but just alot slower unless parents put in some effort to teach... (not saying this is the case for all, but definitely some)

[Indadhanu]

I'm not saying babies don't need that interaction, of course they do its how they learn, all I meant was rather than trying to structure teaching and push learning, just interact and play and let them learn at their own pace from everyday situations.

[boomba]

Great quote Leesha! We are our kids best teachers! xx

[christy]

Emma1979, I'm only a tiny bit concerned about the idea that its the parents fault the child isn't talking. I read to both my daughters every night. I read 1 book and DH reads another. We read throughout the day, we sit down and talk at dinner, we sing songs together with the guitar, and we tell each other stories and jokes. Both are spot on the developmental milestones that they are supposed to be. Although at one point, Matilda stopped developing her speech, it stalled for 9 months. Nothing helped it improve, and she's only now just starting to get better at things. It turns out there may be other things causing this than parenting.

[lilima]

Hi all,
Posting this to hopefully help. Someone gave DS the set of DVD's for a present, and he LOVES them. I don't really know what benefit they are having, but he has learnt some songs that I had forgotten about. He has learnt some words by sight. It does have some American terms ie Diaper, but otherwise, I don't see it doing any more harm than watching any other DVD.

[paradise lost]

Christy you're so right, EVERY child is an individual. My good friend's son is barely talking, he's only a month younger than DD. She talks and interacts ALL. THE. TIME. Some kids are just not talkers early on. Another friend's kid said barely a word until nearly 3 and then within 3 weeks was ahead of her peers - she wasn't going to speak until she could speak RIGHT, she was just that type - a perfectionist, still is. Her mum also read and talked to her, she had no tv, a fully organic diet from conception - you name it!

My efforts to give DD a good start mainly involve my time and my effort. So i didn't go out to teach her about surface tension or the nature of liquids yesterday, but i DID put her in an all-in-one splash suit, and then take her out to the puddle behind our house and stand for 40 minutes in the pouring rain while she played with a rubber sticker off a Johnsons baby box and a foil loveheart she found at the bottom of the puddle (both of which floated if the surface tension gripped them, but sank if their edges broke it). We ran and splashed some of the time, she squatted and experimented some of the time. Some of the time i talked to her about the effect, some of the time i let her experiment alone. We also looked for (and found!) sharks in the puddle! Most days i take her out for a wander around the park and we feed the ducks and geese, dig for worms, play in the mud. Today she pulled one leaf from a bunch we collected back in June and brought it to me and said "is from a oak tree mama?" and it WAS. Just living creates opportunity to learn. I would far rather DD knew an oak leaf because i helped her reach up and pluck one than because some DVD showed her a picture and drilled her on the words in my (relative) absence.

Bx

[MantaRay]

Emma, I have to say that I am also concerned by the idea that kids don't talk earlier due to parenting. Some children are just capable of talking earlier than others. Both my DS's have been read to from day 1, have had lots of talking and interaction, singing etc. In some ways DS2 has had more, because he's had his brother talking to him from day 1 too. Yet DS2 at 2 is not talking nearly as well as DS1 was. He's not behind, he's perfectly normal, it's just that DS1 was (is) way ahead for his age. This is because they are different children. Not because of any parenting (or lack of parenting) issues. And I know a lot of parents who have also spent lots of quality time with their kids and have not had early talkers. I think many people will be upset by your implication that parenting is the reason kids don't talk earlier. And I sure don't think you are right.

I would far rather DD knew an oak leaf because i helped her reach up and pluck one than because some DVD showed her a picture and drilled her on the words in my (relative) absence.

Well said Bx. I couldn't agree more.

[Pretty Butterfly]

I agree with you both Hoobley and Mantray.

I have always read and talked to my kids, and have great readers and talkers, except my DD. She still struggles at 10, and it certainly IS NOT due to parenting. She is even being privatly taught at school after hours, and it is still a long slow process. I love reading, have a huge library of books, and lead by example, but it is just how she is, poor chook.

But I have a cousin who, without being too rude, is a "little slack" in that department, and her child reads really well for her age!!! Go figure!!!

[mrsmac]

Emma- every child speaks when they are ready. As a teacher I have never seen a direct correlation between good at reading and speaking early. I have however seen burnt out children who have been pushed by their parents from an early age who have never been allowed to just play and have fun.

[Ezz]

Originally Posted by MantaRay - By the time he gets to grade 1 (when they first start to learn reading) in two years, he is going to be so bored having to start from the beginning again. I actually see his early reading as a problem, not an advantage. So I am always interested in other people's views on it.

Depends what sort of school he goes to hon...

At my kids school, reading is done on ability, not grade. Each child is assessed, and the readers are given out accordingly. As they finish a level, the next level is sent home. It isn't uncommon to find kids in one class ranging from 5-15 in readers...
Homework is also done the same way.
But I'm not sure how common that is. My kids are at a smallish (20 per class) catholic school...

Most schools (well certainly in NSW - can't vouch for other states) will teach reading based on ability, not grade. I taught kindergarten in 2006/2007 & had a huge range of ability in my class - from kids who couldn't identify their own name, to kids who were reading at a grade 2 level. A good teacher can manage a wide range of abilities in a classroom, and will probably teach reading in small groups, not to a whole class.

[Lulu]

My nephew didn't utter a word (except to my father) till he was three, but when he did talk it was at a three year old level. I think he was one of those perfectionists too!

Although sometimes we don't get the chance, or don't make the time to really talk and LISTEN to our kids. With my short lived full time hours at work I found most of the conversation was 'hurry get your shoes on, thats a nice truck dear, quick into the car, love you sweetie, kiss mummy goodbye, don't hit your sister - how was your day, thats nice, wash up for dinner jarmies on goodnight".
I started letting DS stay up a little later just so we could sit on the couch together and talk about the day.
Even though DD was speaking early and far more than the kids at childcare, her vocabulary has jumped ahead leaps and bounds since she started.

Dinnertime together really is important - sometimes its the only chance some families have to really talk to each other.

[Emma1979]

just wanted to re-iterate what i wrote earlier....

i'm not saying this is the case for all, but i do attribute parenting etc to SOME children who are slower to develop speech...

i personally do think kids learn best by playing and having fun, and usually in the evenings at our house you will hear us all screaming through the house like crazy people with our daughter in hysterics..

i also think with every day mundane daily chores etc opportunity presents itself for kids to learn through talking, games or whatever... ie

Where's the broom? points to where it is
Can you get the broom for mummy? goes and gets it
What do we do with the broom? shouts SWEEP!

etc etc etc just boring every day stuff but exciting for little ones who think they are helping... hardly pushing her academically, just making the most of opportunities to talk and learn.

I know some parents who just don?t talk that much to their kids and that?s what I meant by me thinking to myself ?well what do you do to encourage it? ? it wasn?t meant as an attack on any parent with a non talker, it was in reference to personal experience/people I know.