Have you tried the "Your Baby Can Read" program?

I personally wouldn't go near anything like that. They're really just a way of scamming money out of you. The best way to get your child interested in reading is to sit down and read books with them. You don't need to spend tons of money on a program that basically just teaches the toddler to memorize the look of works, not read or understand them.

Your baby cannot read. All your baby can do is memorize words. I know someone who used ''Your Baby Can Read'' and was bragging about how many words her child knew... when the kid went to school, the teacher had to work extra hard to undo all the damage the program had done. It's just a waste of your money that could be better spent on other things.

Do you really think sitting watching DVDs is going to be good for your child's brain development? The BEST way to teach your baby to read is to read books to them! It's a tried and tested method and it DOESN'T cost you a fortune. There's no point in having your child memorize all those words. That's not how children are taught to read in school and they'll just have to re-learn all over again.

The Claim: Your Baby Can Read! teaches babies to read.

The Facts: According to literacy experts who examined Your Baby Can Read!, the program does not teach reading; at best, it’s memorization. Even though babies and toddlers may recognize written words, their brains aren’t developed enough to actually learn to read.

The Claim: Your Baby Can Read "gives your child the tools to achieve lifelong success by teaching reading early, helping to increase your child’s confidence, self-esteem, and later academic success.”

The Facts: There is no evidence that babies who watch the videos are better readers—or have more academic success—late on. What has been proven to encourage literacy? Reading books and stories to children from infancy and talking to them from birth.

The Claim: Your Baby Can Read! is a reading system—including a series of DVDs—for babies as young as 3 months.

The Facts: There is no evidence that babies can learn how to read by watching DVDs. Videos are not an effective or efficient means of educating infants and toddlers. While videos visual and audio cues may capture the attention of babies as young as 3 months, it is not until about 18 months of age that videos will hold babies' attention because the content is comprehensible to them. In fact, so called “educational” baby videos like YBCR take babies away from two activities known to promote learning—interacting with real live, caring adults and engaging in hands-on creative play.

The Claim: Parents are encouraged to start Your Baby Can Read when babies are 3-months-old and to follow the above schedule.

The Facts: If parents follow the viewing instructions, their baby will have watched more than 200 hours of Your Baby Can Read by the age of nine months. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no screen time for children under age two. Research links infant screen time to sleep disturbances and delayed language acquisition, as well as problems in later childhood such as poor school performance and childhood obesity.

My friend got them when her son was about 9 months and used to put him in his chair to watch. He never really caught on to them. Now he is 2 and has not watched them for months. She has a leap frog "letter factory" dvd and she says that has helped more then anything. My daughter is the same age but has never watched any videos and know about the same amount of letters. She does not know the sounds like he does but we have not worked on that and I think some of it is him memorizing the song they sing I do not know if he really knows the sounds.

No, it's a waste of money. Actually sitting with your baby and reading to them is what helps them learn to read.