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capri0mniNamely, Infomercials that are pushing a set of videos called "Your Baby Can Read," a regimen where you plunk your baby down in front of the tv starting at three months old every day, and by nine months, the promise is that they'll actually be reading individual words like "bellybutton" and "kick," and understanding what the words mean, and by age two years they'll be reading novels by Dickens.
And the promise is explicitely stated that this will make your child a success in school, and in business and government, when she grows up.
Um. Your baby's eyes (and the muscles that control them) aren't even fully developed until about three years old, and you're expecting (demanding?) that she focus on static, two dimensional, abstract shapes and string them together in a single linear fashion?
What about learning to see the world, before learning simply to read about what others have written about it?
What about engaging all your senses, with the real, three dimensional world, and to connect "mud" with "Squishy" and "cold" before learning to connect a three funny looking lines with the single sound "aahh"?
What about playing patty cake or peekaboo, or singing "Where is Thumbkin," with your baby instead of plunking her down in front of a machine?
What about teaching your baby all about holding a conversation, and listening, and doing? Those are also skills your child will need to get ahead. Might even be more important, in the long run.
I mean, I know parents are anxious about their children's future. And I know that Infomercials are big, these days, because they promise quick fixes to the Big Scaries out there.
But this? Teaching your baby to read, starting at three months, makes as much sense as trying to start potty training at three months. And it probably does even more psychological damage.
sorry, I just had to sputter, there.
And the promise is explicitely stated that this will make your child a success in school, and in business and government, when she grows up.
Um. Your baby's eyes (and the muscles that control them) aren't even fully developed until about three years old, and you're expecting (demanding?) that she focus on static, two dimensional, abstract shapes and string them together in a single linear fashion?
What about learning to see the world, before learning simply to read about what others have written about it?
What about engaging all your senses, with the real, three dimensional world, and to connect "mud" with "Squishy" and "cold" before learning to connect a three funny looking lines with the single sound "aahh"?
What about playing patty cake or peekaboo, or singing "Where is Thumbkin," with your baby instead of plunking her down in front of a machine?
What about teaching your baby all about holding a conversation, and listening, and doing? Those are also skills your child will need to get ahead. Might even be more important, in the long run.
I mean, I know parents are anxious about their children's future. And I know that Infomercials are big, these days, because they promise quick fixes to the Big Scaries out there.
But this? Teaching your baby to read, starting at three months, makes as much sense as trying to start potty training at three months. And it probably does even more psychological damage.
sorry, I just had to sputter, there.
