Can Your Baby Really Read?

Can your baby really read? No really, I am asking you. I bought a program I saw on one of those info commercials when my little was just a babe. I was so excited and bought into all the hype and actually imagined that I was giving my child advantage on life he would be off doing algebraic equations while everyone in his future Kindergarten class was drawing snakes shaped likes S’s. In reality, I would put the DVD’s in and show him the flashcards just as the directions said, every day. Sit there with him doing it with him and trying to get him excited about it.  I did this for nearly two years, but my kiddo never read the first word. I just didn’t get it. I saw the videos with toddlers and preschoolers reading, so why wasn’t my little? Was he just bored with it? Could he read and not able to tell us? Did he have a learning disability? Was he not as bright as these kids on the television? Had I been ripped off on some phony system? You can’t help but to wonder why one thing can work for one person and not another.

My little is a very bright, intelligent, active and happy boy who loves books and wants to read. I frankly think the program that we tried and failed with as a baby was boring. He was always more interested in what was going on around him than what was on the tube, although at first it was new and appealing, but like any old toy after a while it lost its appeal. But my gut feeling as to why the program didn’t work for was that my child was just not really ready yet. How so? Recently I read an article by Sarah Bernard about research that points to changes in the belief system of literacy development.  Bernard quoted Martha Bridge Denckia, director of development cognitive neurology at the Kennedy Krieger Institute and neurology professor at John Hopkins University: “The past decade has seen tremendous push for earlier and earlier emphasis on reading skills.” Denckia has studied reading acquisition for forty years further was quoted stating: “It’s well meaning, but possibly not good for a significant subset of children.” Further reading of Bernard’s article lead me to conclude that there was absolutely nothing wrong with my little guy’s ability to learn to read he was just not ready yet.

I learned that some students are early readers as early as age three. I know I was an early reader. I was reading prior to entering kindergarten. I also remember my peers not being able too yet. But we all eventually get there with the right variables and desire, no? Some might not learn till their nine, but that is okay too. The lesson is that earlier is not always better. I mean seriously, is there a cutoff time where if you don’t learn to read by THIS age than that’s it, you’re doomed to be illiterate.  I mean if the grocery store opens at 8 am do you have to get there at 8 am? What if you decided to go to the museum and learn some history, stop at the park and go for a walk and visit a friend who shows you the newest additions to their fossil collection, than you go grocery shopping and it’s now 8 pm. Did this hurt anything? Actually if you had gotten your groceries first and went and did all those things your groceries would have probably spoiled waiting in the car. :D No, going later didn’t hurt anything. Early isn’t always better. Ever heard of better late than never (I always hated that saying, but hey it goes with what I am saying).  We are all people who are unique and different and have different styles of learning and timeframes in which we learn. Some of us are morning people, some of us are night owls, which is better? Point being our children are natural learners and no doubt, like the sponges for knowledge they are, soon in their own time they will read. They may not be a baby and reading the Great Gatsby, but they may be eight and enjoying some of Uncle Jeremey’s old batman comic books.

So where is my five year old in reading? Well every day after dad leaves for work he brings me a stack of books he wants me to read to him. So a good part of our day is spent reading. He absolutely loves the Bible to be read to him and really gets into it and ask a lot of questions. He loves memorizing quotes from different characters we read about.  His favorite stories so far are the story of Jacob and Esau from the Bible and the Book Lentil.  He would go to the library everyday if there was one closer to our farm, but we still manage to go usually 1-3 times a week and have a wonderful collection of books in our home library as well as electronic books and books on DVD. He loves the reading activities at the library, especially the reading tutor dog. Can he read yet? No, but I know at the rate he is going with the love he has from reading and learning that in no time he will be.

 

Special thanks Kristie Lynn for sharing the referenced article with me.

 To read more from the referenced article please visit: http://www.edutopia.org/brain-research-reading-instruction-literacy