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.
