I remember sitting propped up on my bed on bed-rest watching the Your Baby Can Read Commercials. I felt pressured to purchase the $200 video set because I didn’t want my kids to be at a disadvantage when they entered school. I convinced myself that by kindergarten all of the other kids would be reading. Nevertheless, I waited to purchase the set when my kids were 4 months old. A friend and I were watching TV when the commercial came on again and she looked at me and I looked at her. Then with her encouragement I went online and placed my order.
Now, three years later according to ABC 13, the company founded and created by Dr. Robert Titzer , Your Baby Can Read is going out of business (Source). I wasn’t shocked to hear the news, although I liked their product. Yes, I said it. I liked Your Baby Can Read. No, I am not in favor of propping your 3 month old baby in front of a TV all day. On the contrary, for less than 30 minutes a day and with no other TV, the program worked for one of my daughters. However, here is where I recognize the fault within the product, I have twins and only 1 child learned to read well while using the system. They were both exposed to it at the same time, I followed the off-screen flash cards and more traditional methods as well. At the ages of 1 and 2 years old only one of my daughters could actually read a book through. Even though at first it seemed like they were learning at the same pace. After several months I realized my other child only knew the words from the videos and cards. Their reading levels were noticeably different, but they both had the same advantages.
I will also note, while watching the DVD after 6-8 months one of my children seemed to connect with it more than the other, which is probably why the system worked for her. I also realize that my children have vastly different learning styles as well. Thus at around 28 months I stopped using the program altogether to focus on phonetics and off-screen reading comprehension. I basically, let them read early learning books and decreased TV time altogether.
My daughter who did not thrive on the program better understood when I phonetically reviewed words with her. While both could read some, only one child left the program showing similar results as the commercials. I believe, the program was more work than some anticipated, hoping to give their child a head start without going through the one-on-one flash cards. If a child is interested in the videos and willing to allow you to work with him or her to do the games and cards, the Your Baby Can Read system will work. If not, it isn’t going to work. Now, both of my children are reading, but I can’t help but wonder is this law suit against Your Baby Can Read similar to the Nutella lawsuit where the claimants divided $3 million because of misleading advertisements (Source)?
After hearing about the lawsuit, my first thought was, “Man there goes my Ebay resell value.”
What are your thoughts, did you use Your Baby Can Read?