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Original poster

Richard and Judy- Babies reading as young as 9 months!!!

79 replies

LittleMissBliss · 28/02/2008 18:15

Did anyone else see this? Ds is 3 months and i'm tempted to get the Dvd. I think giving your child a head start is great.

OP posts:
Mercy · 28/02/2008 18:41

SEA, I dint know you was a norf Londoner!

southeastastra · 28/02/2008 18:44

i was for ten years, then moved back to herts

tortoiseSHELL · 28/02/2008 18:47

When they grow up, they don't have 'I learnt to read at 9 months' tattooed on their forehead you know...

Original poster
LittleMissBliss · 28/02/2008 18:49

really? darn that's what i was holding out for....

OP posts:
FrannyandZooey · 28/02/2008 18:50

I learnt to read fluently when I was 2

my word what a glittering path my life has followed since

Astrophe · 28/02/2008 18:56

oh no, please no. Let your little babies suck on their toes and throw their toys and listen to you sing.

Isn't it bad enough they have to start school at 4?

These early reading programs are not new. They have been around for years now and have been shown to have negative long term effects - children generally read at a lower level than peers later down the track.

Oh, this makes me so sad for the babies, and so angry with the marketers.

Habbibu · 28/02/2008 19:03

I really really don't see the point. DD (16 mo) is flippin' obsessed with books already. I think her having access to and enjoying "reading" books her way (as in cheerfully babbling to herself as she turns the pages) is more than sufficient to help develop a good relationship with books and reading in the future. I refused point blank to learn to read until I went to school, aged 5. Still managed to get a PhD in English.

Phoenix · 28/02/2008 19:24

My ds has just turned 2 and can't really talk just 'mama' 'dada' 'hiya' and a few more but he watches Countdown with dh most nights and takes notice of the letter shapes and sounds he knows E,D,B,R,I,A and whenever he sees them he shouts them out but only the capital letters

Habbibu · 28/02/2008 19:30

And isn't the "head start" thing a red herring? I'm sure I've heard of studies where children who don't start learning to read till 7 (Scandinavia? Netherlands?) do as well if not better than children who start at 4.

cazzybabs · 28/02/2008 19:30

There has been further research that suggests that hothousing makes no difference to future accedemic success and infact it may delay development in other areas.

Kindersurpise · 28/02/2008 19:40

German children do not start school until they are 6yo, sometimes 7yo. This is a full 2-3years after English children.

I asked a teacher at DD's school (she starts in August) and was told that most children are reading quite well by Christmas. From what I have seen of my neighbours children, they catch up with the British children in terms of literacy very quickly.

I had thought about teaching DD to read before school but have left it. I am sure she will pick it up quickly and I want her to enjoy her last year at kindergarten without any added stress.

spokette · 03/03/2008 11:25

My friend is following the "Babies love to learn" reading programme. She has just started her 12 week old DD on the course. Her other two children were both reading by the time they were 18 months - did not understand what they were reading though.

Mother and father are very competitive.

TreadmillMom · 03/03/2008 11:43

I have 2 DSs and I really don't see the point of academically pushing encouraging them at such an early age. It concerns me that they'll start school, become quickly bored then detached from education.
From the age of 4 months I have read to my children and they have hundreds of books which they enjoy to sit and flick through and I love to hear them recounting stories parrot fashion. They also have a library card.
DS1 is 4 and in Reception and he is on some Year 1 reading assignments, I do not get on his case about homework, I have a more laid back easy going approach which I hope maintains his enjoyment of learning.
My neighbour insists on her daughter doing an hours worth of homework after school every night, to me that is torture she's only 4 she's just spent the last 6 hours in a classroom environment, let her relax her mind I feel this kind of routine could fuel a hatred of academia.

oxocube · 03/03/2008 11:46

What on earth is the point? I would rather they were learning to ride a trike, playing in mud and sand, going swimming etc

spokette · 03/03/2008 12:28

My friend made DH and I sit through a DVD they had made of their 18 month old son reading.

It was torture.

qwertyshell · 12/03/2008 22:32

i brought this just after richard and judy, i got the big bundle but it costs nearly $200 with i think is about just under 100 quid, iv got a 20 month old and a 6 month old. i play the starter dise once in the morning and at bed time and my oldest seems to really enjoy it, after about 10 minutes he loses intreats but they add songs to get there attention back, really hoping they will find it easyer to start reading. and it took under a week yo arrive.

SueBaroo · 13/03/2008 10:14

I imagine it might actually cause a bit of a problem when it comes to learning synthetic phonics, actually.

cadelaide · 13/03/2008 10:24

Why would anyone want their children to reach milestones "early"?
What is the benefit?
Unless there's something wrong they all get there eventually.
I've just come home from school where a bunch of parents were fretting and moaning at the teacher because the children are having a spelling test a day earlier than expected, consequently they haven't had time to "revise".
FFS.
Shouldn't be having tests at all, they're 6.
Oh I'm fed up with it, I do think we have it so very wrong at the moment.

MadamePlatypus · 13/03/2008 18:09

Exactly needmorecoffee, early start to what? They will spend atleast 14 years following a curriculum, probably more. Why start so early?

edam · 13/03/2008 18:13

At $200 dollars a pop, the person who dreamt this up is getting very rich quick. Anyone who wants to line their pockets is welcome too, but don't imagine it will give your child any extra advantage in terms of education.

qwertyshell · 13/03/2008 18:36

if it helps my childen to read easyer then surely its a good thing??? its not ramming it into them, maybe when they get to primary school the work wont be to stressfull because they already know the basics.

qwertyshell · 13/03/2008 18:38

children learn from books too. so sould we not let them have books intill later in life???

edam · 13/03/2008 18:55

Imagine how many books you could buy with $200... would be a far better investment.

Hot-housing small children doesn't pay any long-term dividends. If this product amuses you and your children, fine, but don't expect it to change their lives.

qwertyshell · 13/03/2008 21:34

???? its half hour a day of watching a dvd they enjoy. hardly hot housing.
And how do you know it wont change there lives? have you tryed it???

TheDevilWearsPrimark · 14/03/2008 02:38

It would probably help your children more if you knew some basic grammar yourself gwertyshell.