Both of my girls seem determined to buck the system.  While Tacy was talking up a storm by her first birthday, it’s only now that CJ has turned two that she’s begun to say more than just “No!” and “Bobby!” (aka SpongeBob).

Meanwhile, although I know Tacy is fully capable of sounding out words, she stubbornly resists our encouragement.  This was her MO during potty training too, so on one hand, I’m not too surprised.  But while both Kyle and I couldn’t wait to learn to read on our own (or so our parents tell us), our children seem perfectly happy to allow us to read to them.

Kyle and I (and Tacy too) are quite skeptical, so I was really interested in the “Your Baby Can Read” DVDs.  Could these DVDs spark interest in reading where little to none has existed so far?

While I don’t think that either of these DVDs (the Starter or Volume 1) - particularly in the short time that we’ve been watching them - have taught my girls to really READ, I can confirm that they’re engaging and interesting.  Simple without being infantile, descriptive without being overly dramatic - they’ve struck a balance that seems nearly impossible to achieve.

They’ve helped Tacy to recognize some basic words - connecting the letters to the word itself to the associated action or object.  Words like “eyes”, “nose”, and “mouth” - which even most toddlers can understand and identify by pointing - and “dog”, “cat”, and “gorilla” - again, which even most toddlers can recognize on sight, even if they can’t identify them verbally.

Likewise, they held CJ’s attention and elicited responses from her like no other educational program has done so far.  For example, she touched her nose when the word “nose” was shown on the screen.  And when a picture of a cat was shown, she said “cat” for the first time.  Granted, she’s saying new words every day now (thank goodness), but each one is significant - for her and for us.

I don’t expect my toddler to read (although I’d be thrilled if my nearly-five year-old showed more enthusiasm), but I still think these DVDs are a great tool.  Basic concepts and connections are presented in a way that kids can appreciate and parents can tolerate.  Very few DVDs can make the same claim.

Check out more reviews of “Your Baby Can Read” from the Parent Bloggers Network!