Subtitles section Play video Print subtitles The program is based on a definition of reading that includes 'whole' word or 'sight' reading. Due to the newness of this product, long-term benefits extending into school-age or adulthood have not been established. Hi, I'm Lana, as the mother of three, I know parents everywhere are wondering if we should teach our babies to read. We've seen the commercials with kids as young as 1 seemingly reading. Even if babies and toddlers can learn to read, what's the rush? Well, in the next half hour, we're going to separate truth from hype, with the help of Early Literacy Expert, Dr. Richard Gentry. You'll also hear from parents who have tried for themselves the next evolution in early learning. It's called Little Reader. The benefits that I've seen with Little Reader have been dramatic, and we didn't experience that with other systems that we've tried. It's just amazing how much more I think she's going to be independent now, in certain aspects of her learning because she's able to read. Knowing that my not even 2 year old son recognizes words, I am telling you I feel like Superwoman. It's like, "Oh, my gosh, I'm teaching them something, they're so happy, they're learning," She loves it. She loves it. It's fun time! It's Mommy and me time. It's a perfect bonding experience, and learning at the same time. It encouraged me to be a better parent to my child. Some people asked, "are those babies and toddlers really reading?", "Why should we teach them at such a young age?" Well, I have the same questions too, so I asked Early Literacy Expert, Dr. Richard Gentry, author of many books including Raising Confident Readers From Baby to Aged 7. With over 30 years of experiences, he is a former elementary school teacher and university professor who has lectured on Early Learning and Literacy throughout the world. Can babies and toddlers really learn to read? In a nutshell, yes, and you can see many examples of babies and toddlers who have learned to read words. Parents like author Winifred Stoner have been teaching babies to read since almost a hundred years ago. Then why have there been resistance by some experts to embrace the notion that babies can learn to read? There's an academic blind spot. Some experts hypothesize that babies can't read. What we do know is that babies lack the 6-year-old brain capacity which is needed for formal reading instruction. Six year olds have to work hard to understand the complex reading system with their left brain. Babies, however, likely use their right brain capacities for pattern and word recognition. They learn informally, and to them, it's more like playing a game. So, how can we teach babies and toddlers to read? The one crucial component that has never changed is that parents are the key to any success. Just good old one-on-one parent and child interaction. But an extremely important element is having a complete toolkit that makes it easy for parents. One such tool kit that helps parents teach their babies and toddlers to read is Little Reader! Before my conversation with Dr. Gentry, we invited a group of parents to try out Little Reader on their babies or toddlers. They used Little Reader on a regular basis and documented the learning process. Let's meet one of these parents. Hi I'm Amy and this is my daughter Willa. She's almost 16 months old and we are very excited to try BrillKids Little Reader, aren't we? Everybody in our house is always on the computer, it's a great way for her to have her own computer time... Ready to start? ...and be educational at the same time! Right? It's like it's tailor made for her attention span that we get on, she gets her little... you know... word flash lessons and just she's tickled. There's no pressure, you pick it up when you want to pick it up, it turns off when you want to turn it off and, she loves it. Now, I can actually say to her, "Willa, do you want to go do your Little Reader?" and she runs over where the laptop is and, waits for me to turn it on It has been nothing but fun time and bonding activity for Willa and I together Willa loves Little Reader Say bye bye There were several things that came up consistently between the parents who tried Little Reader. One of them was how easy it was to use. Little Reader deliberates. It makes a puzzle that anybody can pick it up, turn it on, install it. Everything is prompted in on the screen, so even I couldn't screw up. All you have to do is click Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, press Play and go. So I was like, "This is easy! I can do it! I can do it without him!" It's 5 minutes a day, it's fun for them, they are learning at the same time. Little Reader's short amount of time that they require of you allows me to be truly focused on helping him and making it more exciting for him. If I can make 10 minutes a day with 5 kids then, and a job, I think pretty much anyone can do that. As a parent you just want to help your children and this is the easiest thing you could do. Many of my friends have asked, "Shouldn't we just let babies be babies?" I asked Dr. Gentry if we've become a generation of neurotic flash card parents forcing the early learning issue. The great news is that with baby and toddler reading, no force is necessary. In fact, it's the COMPLETE OPPOSITE because babies and toddlers love to learn! These lessons are just like playtime for her. I'd go, "It's time for your lesson," and they all run for the room. Owen will come up and say, "More flashcards, more Little Reader." Lily will grab the laptop and say, "More, more, more!" She loves it so much that she asks for it several times a day. My son gets very excited as soon as he sees the first word pop onto the screen, he realizes, "Oh, we're getting ready to do the program." He absolutely loves it. With this program, the kids are able to be kids and enjoy themselves they don't even know they're learning. They just think it's, like, a video game. Isabella loves Little Reader. Like, it's amazing, honestly. I know my son loves it, I know everybody else who's used it loves it. We've seen some incredible footage of babies and toddlers reading using the revolutionary Little Reader program. However, some experts question if they're actually reading or just memorizing the words. I asked early literacy expert, Dr. Richard Gentry, how do babies and toddlers learn to read? Well, experts define reading in different ways. We know that babies don't start out reading words phonetically. They seem to start out reading the whole word and demonstrating that they know its meaning. However, incredibly, many parents are reporting that over time, their toddlers seem to be picking up on word patterns intuitively. Dr. Gentry, you've chosen to endorse Little Reader as the recommended toolkit for teaching babies and toddlers to read. What makes Little Reader so special and why does it work? I've examined other programs, but Little Reader stands out for me. It takes advantage of modern day technology to deliver lessons that are more engaging for little children and easier for parents. Because it's software-driven, it's able to deliver lessons in ways that's never before been possible with flash cards or DVDs alone. Little Reader I think goes above the DVD-based system because of its variation, because it engages the kids a lot more, We had used other programs with my daughter, but I really liked with Little Reader that it was done in such short bursts. It was better for a smaller infant's attention span, Just every day, I see them finding something else that they enjoy about it, because it changes every day. It'll change the character, or the animal, Different font, different color, different script, different voice saying it. Not only are you learning the things that are programmed in, you can teach them things about your own family. "That's my mom in that picture," and I'm identifying this word or "That's our dog, in our own home." When grandma comes into town, and the children have seen her on Little Reader, over and over again, they warm up right away. Every time Grandpa's picture came up, he would say, "Grandpa!, Grandpa! Grandpa!" ...and when he saw Grandpa in person, that was like his favorite person... Don't some pediatricians say that a baby shouldn't be watching anything on a screen before the age of two? The concern is over inappropriate content and the lack of parental interaction if the TV is being used as a baby-sitter. Today, organizations like the National Association for the Education of Young Children are recognizing the importance of technology, and are moving to encourage parents to use technology in responsible ways. In fact, with Little Reader, you also have access to one of the largest early learning online communities in the world. Giving you support from tens of thousands of parents and the ability to download a ton of additional free content in all sorts of different languages. I really enjoy being a part of the Little Reader community online. I can connect with parents all over the globe, and not feel alone in early learning. That kind of support is really valuable to parents Yeah, I think the community involvement that you can download customized content from people all over the globe, is phenomenal. We have potentially years' worth of educational tools, you know, that we can tap into. There's no way you can just be finished and be like, "Ok, I've completed the whole program," like these other programs or like DVDs, Little Reader, you actually can just keep adding on, adding on, adding on, it never ends. It's limitless. You can keep going, even though my kids are going to be 2 and 4, I'll probably be able to do this for the next several years and never run out of content. You can see how special and revolutionary Little Reader is, but how does it actually help your child? Once again, let's check in with our group of parents to see how their children benefited from using Little Reader. I've definitely seen an improvement in his vocabulary, We have been trying to teach him the parts of his face for months now, and Little Reader taught it to him in like, 2 weeks. What I noticed was that their vocabulary jumped. We exposed her to the program, and it was just like an explosion I'll come home in the evenings or on the weekends when I get to spend more time with her, and I'll go, "Where did she learn that?" And just Lisa goes, "Little Reader!" His speech has improved dramatically since he started doing the Little Reader program. I really feel that this program's helped them talk so much, and know so much, and we have conversations with them. Just like they're little people. He was always active, but he wasn't as vocal as he needed to be. That's not a problem now. He's very vocal. There's a lot less crying in our house, and that's priceless. it's just heartbreaking to hear your kid trying to communicate with you and see their frustration on their face and not know what to do about it. Her sentence structure, and her developing ability to speak to us, to where we can really carry on a conversation with her, it's been fantastic. It's cool talking to other parents that haven't been doing programs or things similar and they're like, "Your kid's talking?" and they see her like saying these words, and communicating brilliantly, so I'm pretty proud. Wow! Expansion of vocabulary and improved communication. Listen now to see how this revolutionary program can turn your child into a little reader. I almost cried the first time I saw her read a word. It was, "teeth." She saw the word on the computer, she pointed at her teeth, and she pointed at mine. I wasn't ready for that. I was like, "Oh my gosh, she's really getting this!" When I lowered the volume and the word, "apple" flashed without the picture, he would go, "apple," so he is actually recognizing the words on the screen. I didn't expect for them to actually look at a word and start reading it at, you know, 1. And so to see that he did that was, "Oh my god." I started writing it on a board, and I say, "What does this say?" And every time now, he says, "Eat!" And literally, I flipped page to page and she read the whole sentence, and I thought, "Wh- what's the trick here?" Here I am with my daughter, she's 2, and she's reading a story to me, and I'm just like, amazed. Stay tuned to learn how you can bring Little Reader home to your baby and give him the most incredible gift during the most explosive learning period of his life. And when we come back, we'll ask teachers if early reading programs really make a difference in separating the kids in the classroom. You may be shocked at their responses. For those of you just tuning in, we've been exploring the subject of teaching babies and toddlers to read with Dr. Richard Gentry. Dr. Gentry is an author, former teacher, and university professor with over 30 years of experience in the field of early learning and literacy. Dr. Gentry, some parents would ask, "Won't my child learn to read in school?" The best thing about learning to read early is that it opens the door for children to learn about what they're interested in. Imagine how happier children would be if they could read and learn all about their favorite dinosaurs at the age of 5, when most children their age can only admire the pictures in the books. But shouldn't we just leave that to the teachers? Forty-three per cent of children enter kindergarten not ready for success with reading. The teacher's role is very important. But whether you like it or not, you are your child's first and best teacher. I used to work at a preschool and I'm a FIRM believer in parents first. With Little Reader, it enables all parents to become their children's first teacher. it makes it so much easier, like I'm not a licensed teacher or whatever it is, but I feel like it. The preschool teacher must have a great time, seeing your child learn all these things, but why not you? If you can have that quality time with your child and see your child learn a new word, to be able to communicate with you better, why not make that you be the first person to see that in your child? The Little Reader program makes me feel like I'm a better mom I feel like one of those moms now, like I could put an "S" on my chest, like yes, I am that good. It makes me feel good about what we're doing because I think I'm teaching them, as opposed to putting them in front of a screen with a running DVD. I was always told I'd be a great teacher, and my parents always wanted me to be a teacher, and now I get to be a teacher. But to the best student, my own child. It's the best. To truly understand if early learning impacts a child's future academic success, let's ask the experts on the frontline of learning - Parents using Little Reader who are also teachers. Meet Mia, a former teacher and mother of 21-month-old triplets, and Greg, a current sixth grade English teacher and father of a 22-month-old son. As a teacher in 6th grade, you could really tell those that were not engaged or introduced or even have the books at home to read, even whether it was early on or later on, they just didn't care to read. As a teacher, I think it would be absolutely important that you start a program like Little Reader to read, to learn vocabulary as soon as possible that would make my job a lot easier. If you teach it at home, it transfers over into school. It would help a lot of my students now if we could go back in time and get them started on it now. I wish it was a way that everybody could experience it from rich, poor, whatever, with your toddler I almost want to say mandatory, for Little Reader to be a part of a toddler's life. I would recommend Little Reader to other families, absolutely. I think Little Reader should be in everybody's home. Besides vocabulary, communication and early reading, happy stimulated babies flourish in so many other ways. Just listen to what else Little Reader has instilled in these children. Every day they pick up books and they want to know more. "Daddy, let me read the book," and so she reads the book. She wants to do it. When you have a skill, like an ability to read, there's that confidence, you're not intimidated. I think the byproducts are certainly confidence and an increased desire to learn. She's learning so much more than I thought she could at 20 months of age, it's amazing. We're like "Well, wait a minute, she's not supposed to be doing that till she's 3 or 4, and she's doing it now." This program has helped so much. Like, even when I take him out other places, people are like, "How does he know this?" or "He knows how to wave or point at things?" or "How does he know that?" Using the program, I've seen such an advancement of Christopher, compared to my other two children. It's just like it flipped a switch. It just flipped a 'smart' switch. Some healthy confidence, a little head start in the classroom and an early love for books and reading - all while having fun. But across the board, parents report the most rewarding part of Little Reader is the increase bonding they experience with their children. It's not a lesson so much as it is Mommy and Me time that we wouldn't have otherwise. They're only little for such a short time, so to be able to take that opportunity to learn at the same time, it's exciting, it's fun, and I wouldn't miss it. They're going to learn how to read, but that's just almost a side benefit. The relationships that you're building with your child through the program, is really the priority. I run it through with her during the day, but they do the books together and things like that and it's the "Daddy and me" time, and it's very sweet. It just gets me, right here. It does give me something to do, cause a lot of times as a dad, I'm sometimes at a loss as to what to do. My husband was able to slowly connect with him. Before, he would never go to my husband. We didn't expect you know, a reading program to bring us together as a family but certainly it's done that. We all remember a select teacher to in our lives who created an exciting environment, where we learnt without effort, when knowledge came without force memorization. With Little Reader you'll have the opportunity to create an enriching, wonderful atmosphere in your own home for your baby or toddler. Take advantage of the explosive first five years of learning and deliver you child to his first classroom with confidence. You can do it with Little Reader in just 5 minutes a day. Be the first, and perhaps the most impactful teacher of his life. Can babies and toddlers learn to read? They can! They do! and they love to! With Little Reader! Today, more and more parents are realizing that not only can babies learn to read, but they love to learn! The key to Little Reader's effectiveness lies at the heart of the system - a revolutionary software program that makes learning actually fun for your child and simple for you! All you need is as little as 5 to 10 minutes a day to not only give your child a head start in early reading, but also to help him improves his vocabulary and communication skills. As well as help him develops a lifelong love of books and learning. But most of all, Little Reader increases bonding between you and your child in ways you never imagined. It brings everything together, your bonding time and your learning time... Just taking 5 minutes out of my day to do the program I feel like a wonderful mom, I'm teaching him so much. When you order today you'll receive everything you'll ever need, including the multiple award-winning Little Reader software. If all you do is load and use the software with your child. We guarantee your satisfaction or your money back! Not only does the program included tremendous amount of content. You can also customize it with your own photos! What's more is the variety of pictures, voices and videos that is included helps keep your child's interest much more than typical books or DVDs. You can actually input your own voice and pictures and... those are things that they love. Every day the words are different. Every picture has a different variety. But that's not all, being a Little Reader user give you free access to one of the largest Early Learning Online Communities in the world. You'll have access to thousands of free lessons in over two dozen different languages! And with so many other parents walking the same journey with you, you'll never feel like you're teaching alone! Little Reader hands down is the best program that you can find. Your child's going to love it. Purchase Little Reader, you will not be disappointed. If you know somebody that is having children, then you get them Little Reader as a gift! The best thing that you could do for your young child is to purchase Little Reader and use it. Why wait!? This should be one thing you don't hesitate in investing in. It's a great opportunity that you don't want to miss. My advice to parents is to start today! You, the parent or caregiver or the first reading teacher, and Little Reader is the best toolkit available to get you started. Get Little Reader today! Following independent reviews of baby/toddler reading products, Dr. Gentry became a member of the BrillKids team.
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