Teaching your baby to read

So I woke up before the birds this morning, and saw this infomercial about teaching your baby to read......

Has anyone HERE ever attempted to teach their kids to read, before the age of 2?? How'd it go if you did?

I'm obviously quite a bit skeptical. We've tried toys with our kids that say ages 3 and up (they are not quite 2) and they just don't get it yet, like some puzzles and things. We've tried the leapfrog learning pad thingie with the books (where they touch something on the page, and it tells you what it is or reads a line from the book) and they just want to throw it around, not sit and quietly play with it. We tried that at just under a year, and again a few months ago (at 19 months) and got the same reaction....


I'm just curious if anyone has attempted to try to get their kids to read, and how much successthey had with it. I know you can teach them sign language, and I know kids are smarter than we give credit for, that just seems a bit much though to me unless you have an absolute genius baby. LOL


Maybe I'm wrong.

 

I didn't, and I wouldn't bother, personally. There are so many things babies need to learn and do before they are 2, and reading just isn't one of those things. Even if they learn to recognize words, that isn't the same as having comprehension of the sentences. I am sure they *can* recognize words--just think how easily small children recognize logos, which are just really splashy version of words. Don't get me wrong, I *love* to read. I didn't learn how until first grade, but it really took off for me and when I was a kid I probably read 300+ chapter books per year. Waiting until first grade did not dim my enthusiasm or hurt me in any way.

 

Everything I've read says that if you push children too early, they may become early readers, but they will lack any sort of passion or desire for reading -- which would be horrible, IMHO.

The very best thing you can do for young children is read aloud to them, as often as you can. If you really want to do something more, have them watch the LeapFrog Letter Factory video, so they learn their letters and sounds.

My 4-year-old is a precocious early reader, but she didn't really learn to read until she was 4. And, she *loves* it, which thrills me to no end....but, I can't even imagine trying to teach a child younger than 2. I just don't see the point...

 

I agree with you guys. It seems a bit much to get them to read that early. I was just curious if anyone had tried it and if it worked out.....

I don't think I'd want to try to push my kids to learn all the time, or to much to soon. I know that can be just as much harmful as it is helpful. They need to just be kids and play around too.

It just caught my eye and I couldn't believe that they were showing 14 month olds READING (my two are still working on forming words) quite clearly at that.

 

I can't see how a 14-month-old could read... Even my precocious talker could barely speak at that age -- so how would we know if she was reading accurately or not? I'd be curious to see this infomercial, just to see what kind of claims they are making.

Anyway, I consider both my kids sort of advanced (brag, sorry) in the alphabet department -- they know all the letters, can sound some of them out, and clearly understand the whole idea that letters combine to make words, and that words have meaning. They will point to words on a page and ask me "What that says, Mommy?" They can also verbally spell a few things -- their own names, "cat," "cow," etc. So they are well on the way, but they're almost 3 and I still would be really surprised if they could actually read anytime soon.

 

Never even considered trying to get a child that young to read. For reasons posted by everyone else. My almost 5 yr old is in preschool (late bday) and he has learned a lot this year and Im glad he couldnt start school early. I think this extra time to learn and mature is good for him. (different opinion than what I had 6 months ago) So, Im excited for him because he is starting to spell simple words out loud. Mom, dad, cat, dog, etc.. And is doing really well to be on his way to reading. I know all children are different and do things at different ages and stages, but I personally think 2 is way too young.

 

I haven't seen the infomercial, but I think that reading to them and pointing out things on the pages is sufficient at this age. My girls now 'read' some books themselves because we've read them so many times, and they also recognize some letters, but I haven't tried to teach them any of it. Instead we are just playing and they are just sponges!