Kathy was asked to make a comment today on radio and the melbourne SunHerald about whether or not babies should be taught to read.
Her comments are listed below as they appeared in the paper.
Infancy is a time for relationships, attachments, songs, conversations, fun, and a non rushed, easy going beginning to life.
The whole notion of teaching a baby to read is innapropriate and just adds another layer to the already overscheduled, over pushed, over burdened child.
PARENTS claim babies as
young as seven months can
read using a program that
gives them an edge in life.
But some experts say it is
potentially damaging.
The US founder of Your
Baby Can Read, Dr Bob
Titzer, insists the program,
which costs $219.95 for a bulk
bundle of DVDs and word
cards, is fun and infants who
use it do better at school.
Dr Titzer, who will be in
Australia this week, told the
Herald Sun virtually all
babies could learn to read.
‘‘Children who know how to
read before entering school
have higher self-esteem and
they are more likely to do well
in school,’’ he said.
M e l b o u r n e m o t h e r
Viktoria Andreeva started
teaching son Artem to read at
2½ months, showing him
Your Baby Can Read videos
for five minutes at a time.
Now seven months, she
said he watched 20 minutes
at a time and recognised
words such as belly button,
lion and blanket.
But education consultant
Kathy Walker said teaching
babies to read could actually
stress or frustrate the child
when they should be having
fun and learning through play.
‘‘It distracts us all away
from what childhood is about
and is another example of a
global push to make little or
no distinction between childhood
and later life,’’ she said.
Net link: www.yourbaby