Has anyone used the program your baby can read???

Thanks Bambi. I'll keep that option in mind as well. Even if it is kept until the kid is a little older. Having a helping hand with reading couldn't hurt.

Just a side note for a chuckle, when my first child was born, my husband joined a book club before we even got home from the hospital. He was so excited. I did not know about it until the books started arriving.

I second the baby signing. That really helps with the communication skills.

I have 7 kids and never really did anything different with any of them but my 5th child started reading before he turned 3!!! He was still 2 and pointing out signs to us and telling us what they said before I realized he was actually reading!

I finally pulled out some of my beginner readers for him and he read them like they were the simplest things on earth! Of course they were with the "Pat the rat sat on Nat the cat." But he was 2 and reading it!!! I moved on to some more difficult materials for him until he struggled with it. But I think he has an eidetic memory too, because when I started reading the harder books with him and whenever he struggled with a word and I told him what it was, after I told him he knew what it was every time after that! Plus I started doing the US state flash cards with him and he had them memorized in a week.

We've also, always had the closed caption on, on our TV. We always did this and half way through my kids a study came out proving what I suspected, in that CC helps children learn to read, LOL.

I say do what you can as a mother and parent who has the time to spend on such things. But I don't believe it will guarantee your child will read by the time they turn 1 or 2 or even 3. Every child and every brain is different. I have some children who are self motivators and love to learn and I have some kids who just hate learning because they struggle with it, no matter how fun you make it.

Now the baby signing, you WILL see your baby doing the signs as soon as 6-8 months and they will use them for a long time if it helps you to communicate with them. That one amazed me. I've used it with each of my kids and it helps tremendously!

Signing is something I really want to do with my (hypothetical) child.  Did you use real ASL or just made up hand motions?  Any websites you can refer me to so I can read more up on it?  Did you start at birth-ish or wait until they were a few months old?

T :)

ASL is best, but I knw some who make up their own, but it doesn't help if other people can't communicate either.

They recommend starting around 6mo of age but I know some that start earlier. It all depends.
https://www.babysigns.com/
http://www.signingbaby.com/
http://www.babies-and-sign-language.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gSZfW4gVhI

There are a ton of links out there though. We did simple words like milk, sleep or tired, food, hungry, more, please, thank you, diaper, and more. They learn a lot.

This ia also a great reference for new first time mom's http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunstan_Baby_Language it was featured on Oprah and it works too. So your baby talks to you even after they are born.

Words (sound reflexes)

According to Dunstan, the five universal words (or sound reflexes) used by infants are^[3]:

Neh

I'm hungry - An infant uses the sound reflex "Neh" to communicate its hunger. The sound is produced when the sucking reflex is triggered, and the tongue is pushed up on the roof of the mouth.

Owh

I'm sleepy - An infant uses the sound reflex "Owh" to communicate that they are tired. The sound is produced much like an audible yawn.

Heh

I'm experiencing discomfort - An infant uses the sound reflex "Heh" to communicate stress, discomfort, or perhaps that it needs a fresh diaper. The sound is produced by a response to a skin reflex, such as feeling sweat or itchiness in the bum.

Eairh

I have lower gas - An infant uses the sound reflex "Eairh" to communicate they have flatulence or an upset stomach. The sound is produced when trapped air from a belch that is unable to release and travels to the stomach where the muscles of the intestine tighten to force the air bubble out. Often, this sound will indicate that a bowel movement is in progress, and the infant will bend its knees, bringing the legs toward the torso. This leg movement assists in the ongoing process.

Eh

I have gas - An infant uses the sound reflex "Eh" to communicate that it needs to be burped. The sound is produced when a large bubble of trapped air is caught in the chest, and the reflex is trying to release this out of the mouth.

Wow, that's awesome info, I'm going to check it all out, tyvm!!

T :)

We taught my son basic baby signs as an infant. He used about 20 signs often. I got the baby can read set on ebay at a great price but did not start it with him untill he was 2.5 and i was confident he knew all of his letters and their sounds. He acctually asks to put on the videos and he loves them... he is no where near the bays you see on the infomercial but at 3.5 he can spell and write his short name "mike" and he has a index card box of learned words of about 20. he can spell about 6 of those words out loud without the card as well. I think it works to a degree but we (my mother and I) spend alot of time working with him on letters and sounds first. Last week he spelled out 2 different words on the fridge (did and not) to show us and he was very proud of himself... hey it could have been a fluke but 2 words in a row???? i dont think you can just sit the baby in front of the tv and expect them to learn it... the instructions though go over ALOT of one on one stuff you must do with the baby wich i think has alot more to do with it....

I have the program.  My DH bought it for me last spring for my birthday to use with Elijah.  It's not going to be a choice for everyone, as you can see from others comments, but it was a good choice for us.  We've found it to be interactive, it's fun, I do it with him, and he's not plopped in front of a TV.  I don't know how personal messaging works, but if you tell me we can correspond more that way about the program.

We all (me, DH, babysitter, Grammie, etc.) started signing with Elijah when he was about eight months old, always using the word with the sign.  We use it it conjunction with the reading program too.  He signs all the time now.  He can tell us when he wants more, milk, frui****er, to eat, all done, help, a diaper change, looking for the dog or cats, etc. just to name a few.  As a matter of fact,  I just bought an updated book yesterday because we needed more signs.  It has helped tremendously because he can often tell us what he wants instead of having a meltdown because he can't communicate.  He's even made up signs of his own.  I recommend Baby Sign Language Basics: Early Communication for Hearing Babies and Toddlers by Monta Bryant (She has one version with a DVD) and it's $19.95.