I started reading to my son when he was a baby. I often questioned myself, but did “just as the books told me to.” Out of all that time we’ve spent together, books open wide and well-read, my son has developed an incredible love for reading. Naptime and bedtime routines are not complete without books. Our little girl is also getting exposed to reading early since she hears me reading to her brother every day.
My son is 2 1/2 and I’m just now looking for more formal programs to further his intellectual development. I recently had an opportunity to preview Robert Titzer’s Early Language Development System called Your Baby Can Read. If you’ve watched preschool television with your children, then you’ve likely seen the ads for this program. Contrary to what is taught in schools today, Dr. Titzer believes that babies and toddlers can read much earlier than what was originally thought. You’ve probably heard that a baby’s brain develops rapidly (90% during the first five years of life). The infant and toddler years are ideal for language acquisition. According to Dr. Titzer, children who learn to read at an early age perform better in school, are more likely to stay in school, and have more self-esteem.
Dr. Titzer developed this program to help parents seize this window of learning opportunity in their young babies and toddlers. He believes that starting early is advantageous and found that babies and toddlers have an easier time learning spoken, receiptive, foreign and written language during this time period. According to Dr. Titzer, “the earlier the child is taught to read the better they will read and the more likely they will enjoy it.”
My initial thought was…how can my 2 1/2 year old (let alone a baby) learn how to read? But I was so intrigued by the concept that I wanted to try the program out with my son. We met Dr. Titzer at a baby fair in Orange County last year. He went through several of the flash cards with my son (who was about 2 at the time) and in just 10 or 15 minutes, my son was remembering (dare I say reading?) the words on the cards.
There are several components to the program including DVD’s (geared towards both the child and the parent), word cards, and books (geared towards both the parent and the child). I started with the DVD to introduce my son to the words before moving to the word cards. Here is a little video of him interacting with the DVD:
The Parents’ Guide is very informative and provides both the background and guidelines for using this system. There are also numerous tips on how to make the most of the system with your child. I truly think I should have started the program earlier (which I will do with our baby girl) as I felt like some of the content was a bit on the young side for my son.
So the question of the day is…Can your son read? My answer right now is not yet. However, as we work on this program I can see my son starting to retain the information on the “how to” of reading. Repetition is a key factor in the program and I like the various ways of learning incorporated into it. The Starter DVD we received is a bit young for my son but he still enjoys it and we still need to work on the 20 words presented on it.
My last question about the program was how long it takes to see results. There are various levels to the program, each taking about 2 months to complete. I found that my son recognized the words easily but had more difficulty “reading” them. For more information on the program, just visit their site. You can do a 30-day trial for $14.95 (something that is actually quite handy since the entire system retails for $199.95).
I did not receive compensation for this post. I received product samples to facilitate this review.
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I have seen this on TV and was quite skeptical of it as it reminded me of the program my oldest son’s school tried for one year right before he started school called “Whole Language” in which the did not teach phonics for the kids to learn to read, but rather memorization. I always thought that it would be harder for kids to learn new words if they didn’t understand the basics on HOW to sound out letters. So I began teaching my son phonics and he did know how to read before entering school.
This is just my opinion and I have NO training in education, but my son’s school abandoned the “Whole Language” program and reverted back to teaching phonics after one year of failure.
I am glad that you like this program and hope it works well for Jake and your daughter. Thanks so much for your honest and open reviews. I really love them.