Parenthood is a learning experience with no perfect set of rules to follow. You do your best to raise your children healthy, happy, intelligent and able to succeed in the world. There is trial and error, as well as those moments you have to pat yourself on the back for a job well done in the parenting field.
As a first time mom, I read everything I could get my hands on. Any information pertaining to the raising of my child, was just more perspective. More to consider. More strategies to implement in situations we would naturally run into. I even sat through the stories or advice I would sometimes get from the random stranger out in public. Without knowing me, they of course knew what I needed to do as a parent, right from word go. Needless to say, I didn’t always agree with what I read or heard. I simply took it all in and allowed real time training guide me.
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A pat on the back…
Looking back at some of the decisions my husband and I have made along the way, there are certain things I’m so glad we did. One of those decisions I feel we can give ourselves a small pat on the back for, would be the purchase of an early educational product when our son was an infant. Not just any product…a damn good one that impressed us so much, we have recommended it many times over in the years since.
I know many of you are parents or grandparents of little ones. I’m sure many of you have considered a learning program/activity for your little one, a time or two. When you do look for such a product, it is very difficult to determine which is best for teaching children basic life skills. One of the most important life skills that all children have to learn along the way, is communication (basic communication). We found the best way for our son to learn to communicate, just so happened to be a program that taught reading as well.
Your Baby Can Read
When my husband first told me of this program, Your Baby Can Read, I was skeptical. The program developer (Dr. Robert Titzer), believed children could be taught to read well before kindergarten, sometimes even as early as the first 2 years of a child’s life. The development of the program came while Dr. Titzer was trying to teach his own infant (Aleka – 9 months old), how to communicate and even read. He aimed to demonstrate his strategy was effective for his own child and many others. It could work for your baby too! I thought it a little far fetched that a baby could read at such a young age.
That wasn’t the only reason I didn’t take the conversation with my husband, too seriously. When it dawned on me that he really was thinking of purchasing this program for our (just under a year old then) child, I wasn’t too keen to agree. Not only was the price tag a bit steep for new parents with new expenses, but I thought it was far too young an age for us to start hammering down on education.
The Learning Begins
My husband did in fact place that order and I gave it a chance.
Boy, am I so glad I did!
Not only was the program fun, but it did actually work in more ways than one! Like a charm. And, in no way did it ever feel like we were stealing his childhood from him with that bit of educational influence.
For reference, the program we had then (2009), was very similar to the one pictured below (American English Deluxe Kit).
(As an affiliate, Spicy Rocking Chair may, At No Cost To You, receive a small commission if you purchase items from YourBabyCanRead.com with the coupon code above. Thank you for your support!)
The kit came with full instructions on how to coach your child with the materials in a way that was interactive, fun, yet very effective. The videos were 15-20 minutes long each and the precious little host, Aleka, was far too adorable to look away from. My son and I definitely agreed on that. The giggles that her little face got from my boy while she was on screen, was payment enough!
The Strategy
The idea of the program is to allow your baby to watch one of these short videos once a day (we probably did 4 times a week). The videos are very interactive, engaging, and entertaining. If watched routinely, the words shown will naturally become familiar to your child.
Most of the time, I would watch the videos with my son and reiterate, what was being said or pointed to on screen. Every now and then, my son would be happily playing with his toys and mommy needed a moment to start dinner. I figured, the tv was already on with cartoons. Why not switch it over to one of the videos for the moment while I took care of that chore?
No matter what my boy was playing with during those times, his little head would pop right up for Aleka’s lessons. Every single time.
After continuing with the once a day viewing for a few months, the idea is to add in the next phase of learning. That would be the slide out flash cards that have an image with the descriptive word next to it. There were also books you could use, with the same approach…flip up images with words to describe them.
So… a short video while he ate his lunch one day, followed by a quick session with mommy and the flash cards a little later. That was the routine that helped him to learn what feet are, legs, balls, shapes, and the phrase “Arms Up”.
For some reason, he loved that phrase (could be because he got a little tickle when he raised his arms sometimes…Okay, every time 😉
Gift Suggestions
In any event, the final stage of the program is to introduce the flashcards without the images at some point, to see how much has been learned. While my baby couldn’t really talk, he could point. And learn, he did. By the time my son was 3 years old, he was reading short sentences and signs out in public.
The Your Baby Can Read program was something we utilized, but didn’t obsess over. The fact that our son was able to read so well, so early, was just a bonus. Even before he was able to speak his thoughts, the program had already made a huge impact on his ability to communicate with us through pointing, motioning, and half coherent verbal phrases.
As I mentioned earlier, I have recommended this program plenty and wanted to share with you as well. Christmas is right around the corner and it’s the perfect time to investigate the Your Baby Can Read program. Even without a major holiday, it’s a program to file away in your memory to revisit later.
We all want the little humans in our lives, to get as much out of life as possible. Reading does go a long way.
Discounts!
The best part is, if you make a purchase from the company’s website with my coupon code, you will receive a 10% discount. Sounds like a deal to me!
While the above kit that we purchased, is an excellent product, the company has come out with several more kits since then. They have expanded to include several other languages. I saw a couple of packages I would have considered had they been available at the time we purchased. It truly is one of the best investments we’ve ever made for our son.
If you’re looking for an activity for the little ones in your life, this is definitely worthy of consideration and the price can’t be beat (It was far more expensive when we purchased years ago).
Final Thoughts
Now that my son has gotten older and we have learned so much as parents, I always try to pass on those random little bits of advice to others who may find it useful. I do firmly believe if you utilize this program during times you are already spending with your baby, the repetition, engagement, and visual aspects of this program can be very useful. We have spent hundreds of dollars on toys and other products that got cast aside after a period of time and didn’t serve any lasting purpose. This fun program was well worth the money. I would be remiss to keep this recommendation to myself 🙂
Again, for a 10% Discount, go to YourBabyCanLearn.com and upon completing check out, enter in the
Coupon Code: AFXV29-Y5NX
This applies to any item purchased.
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My daughters had this program when they were small- they learned so much! It really is an awesome program!
Agreed. My son would request to watch the videos at times, because they were so entertaining 🙂
I think this would make a great gift. I have a grandson who is just learning to read. It seems like this would keep his attention.
It really is a great program…very engaging 🙂
great idea!
It really is…Thanks for reading 🙂