As the mother of an early reader, I am quite sensitive to what people do and say about children reading at young ages. On the one hand, we all know the importance of promoting literacy and we know that language use should be encouraged at young ages.  But what about teaching toddlers how to read?  What about the use of flashcards? Take a look at these youtube videos and see what you think:

17 month old baby reading!


Reading Baby

While I do think it's important to find ways to encourage language use and foster a love of reading, I don't understand the use of flashcards with infants or even toddlers. I believe in nurturing the abilities and talents of all children, but I also believe we need to follow their lead, particularly when they are so little. If a toddler shows an interest in letters and words, I would certainly encourage it; I could even see how parents might want to use flashcards with a child who shows an interest in words. But how does an infant demonstrate that interest?

What do you think?