Jaime King is promoting something called “Rogue One: Recon – A Star Wars 360 Experience” which from what I can figure out is a video made by Verizon which you can move around to make it feel like you’re piloting a spacecraft from the movie. Despite all the issues I’ve heard they’ve had with the film (reshoots primarily) I’m looking forward to seeing Rogue One when it comes out in mid December, and these kind of promotional tie-ins do work to remind people, I think.
Jaime has a new interview with Wonderwall in which she talks about how she limits her children’s access to technology and television, apart from certain exceptions like movies and the system My Baby Can Read. I’ve seen the infomercials for this but I never knew if it was just a put on or not. Jaime swears it works though and that her kids were recognizing flash cars by six months old. She also says that she doesn’t let her kids have iPhones or iPads with some minor exceptions. She sounds like Meghan Fox in that way. Jamie and her husband, director Kyle Newman, have two boys, James, three, and Leo, 16 months.
On limiting her kids’ access to technology
“I don’t really actually allow my children to use iPads or iPhones. It’s very, very, very rare. The new studies that have come out have shown that if a child is 18 months old or under, they should not have any screen time at all. If they’re 4 years old or under, they should be limited to an hour or so a day. I allow James Knight to watch things that he loves like ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’ or something along those lines — like something that’s a great film. But not just junk.”She swears by “Your Baby Can Read”
“The one thing that I’ve always done since they were babies is something called ‘Your Baby Can Read!’ My children [James Knight and Leo Thames Newman] have been able to read flashcards since they were 6 months old — before they could even speak. That’s something that really changed things for me as a mom that I utilize technology for. It’s just a simple DVD. But that’s the only, only time they get screen time is specifically ‘Your Baby Can Read!’ because it’s really a game-changer.”
When my son was an infant the big thing was teaching them sign language. He was able to make simple signs for things he wanted like “eat” and “drink” and knew some objects like “bird,” “dog,” and “cat.” I remember him making signs for things before he could talk and that was kind of wonderful because it helped us communicate. How does this “My Baby Can Read” system work exactly? Kids don’t usually talk at six months, in most cases they don’t talk until they’re around a year old I thought. I looked up the reviews for it and many people say it doesn’t work and is a money scam although some users (who may or may not be genuine) say it works. It seems like one of the mommy bragging things that doesn’t end up mattering in the scheme of a child’s development, but there’s nothing I like more than bragging about my smart kid and I just did it so I can’t blame Jamie King for talking about it. Plus, how much do you want to bet she’s being paid by this company to promote them?
Photos credit: WENN and Fame
I, um, highly doubt it. But if it makes her proud to think so….
Compensated spokesperson. Product placement.
Once upon a time a dad took his daughter to the park.
“How many ducks are there?” he asked.
She did not know, so the father counted. “Look – one, two, three, four, five!”
“No!” said the kid. “Five is four with one in the middle!”
True story.
Sure Jan.
My daughter’s sitter would do it with her when she was 6 months+. At that stage I think it’s just recognition of a familiar picture. My kid is a smart cookie, but I like to attribute that to my awesome genes!
Exactly, more like recognition and memorization. Like when kids can sing their ABCs. They don’t actually KNOW them yet, just can repeat a song.
The program is definitely a precursor to learning letters, etc for kids, I’m sure, and if people see benefits and progress, that’s great.
My son can pick out books and “reads” the title. Pure memorization, I’m under no disillusion that he cam read. He’s 3 and quite smart, but not there yet.
Side note regarding sign language… best thing we ever did. If you’re on the fence about it, highly suggest.
Children learn to read by two methods, sight words and phonics. The most proficient readers learn doing both. My Baby Can Read is word recognition aka sight words, and while it seems like the children are reading they are not. But hey if she thinks they are whatever it certainly will only hurt her wallet and not the kids.
Another glowing fan of baby sign language! By about 8 months, my girls knew eat, milk, dog, sleep, dance, water, cracker, banana, pacifier, diaper, bath, and a few random things from everyday life i thought would be useful.
It allowed us to communicate, and there were so many times i would think about the crying tantrums we WOULD be having if they didn’t know to just sign what they wanted right there. Plus, this was communication we normally wouldn’t be having for at least another six months when they could talk better.
No delays on language either, in fact i think it helped. My oldest had a 4 year old vocabulary and sentence structure at 2, and the youngest is well on her way.
Like pp said, If you are on the fence, DO IT! At least milk, eat, sleep, and diaper. It’s a life saver!
Girl, bye
I think her pants are on fire…
Now girl…
Looks like she got paid to promote fsmaui (Four Seasons Maui?) too. Must be nice.
Recognizing certain things? Sure. Reading? No.
LOL. You are right. I wonder why she is promoting Four Seasons Maui and Your Baby Can Read. She is rich.
I love her so much that I can’t be annoyed by it. She is genuinely lovely. I’m not buying what she’s saying about the flashcards, but good for her limiting the screen time. It’s so out of control nowadays how super small kids (and big ones) are glued to screens around the clock.
Eye roll. Sure. Whatever you think yerself.
Reading full sentences before they can speak? Um, okay
Weird that she’s read the studies about screen time but not the studies that indicate early reading doesn’t improve academic ability later, and may actually be detrimental to later reading skills. Kids are cognitively ready when they are ready, and for the vast majority of kids, it’s not a three months.
Malificent, I read the same thing and I read that the kids that are behind usually catch up at the appropriate time unless they have a learning disability. I say just let kids be kids and not try and rush it. We all learned eventually. I like the studies about more play time during school and no homework when they are little. Makes more sense to me.
Kids develop unevenly. Behind on some things, ahead on others. And yes, absent other problems, it all evens out in the end.
Sixlet Minor was a very early walker and well advanced in all things physical. And a very late talker. Late to the point that we were beginning to consider doing something about it. Then he finally started talking so we said phew and all was well. Today, he loves sport and is proficient at it but there’s certainly no exceptional talent there. Academically, he is in top streams for everything. It’s an entire role-reversal from his pre-school days!
Malificent
Yes This!
Haha I had the same thought.
And by the way WHAT IS THE DAMN RUSH?! Does she actually think her kids won’t learn to read? Ever?
Ugh I loathe over zealous to the point of pressure pressure pressure parenting.
Let your BABY be a baby!
Also: she used to be James and I never understood why she changed when she already had an established career to Jaime.
I think i also just #donotlikeher
Thanks for this ladies. I was shamed recently because my five year old still has trouble reading and writing his name. My idiot brother-in-law held out a paper with his name on it and said my son should know what it says and made him cry. 🙁
I only learnt to read in first grade, when I was seven. Before my five year older sister wanted to teach me and I resisted. Some other kids already could read, but after like half a year I was way, way faster/better than anyone else. I am not saying that to brag, just illustrate how earlier really doesn’t mean much in the long run.
Everyone has a different timeline for their visual perception skills. Encourage the talent you see, but don’t push it.
Yeah, this is highly unlikely. But you know, if it makes her happy to think it, sure go ahead. Parenting isn’t a contest.
Okay but that’s not reading in the sense that we use the word. Babies recognize things, sure. So maybe they recognize shapes and pictures but they can’t read.
Also, I just googled it and the company seems to have gone out of business?
Out of business? So she is not promoting it.
My nephew could say my name when he was 6 months old. Well he said Jeckica. Then when he was about 2 years old we were in the car and he was shouting out McDonald’s! Kentucky Fried Chicken! Dunkin Donuts! And we were like “yeah he’s just memorizing them from commercials, etc.” Then we were by a sign and he reads out loud “No Parking or Standing Anytime”. We all flipped out. We just kept handing him things to read and he read them. When he was 4 you would see him reading the newspaper and huge scientific books because he loved science.
My son is the same. He didn’t talk until later though and it was regular Dada and Mama for him. And the thing they both had in common is they both watched a ton of tv. My son (who is 7 now with a Fifth grade reading level) always watched tv and videos and is on the PC or iPad all the time. I limit it some days but I think it just depends on the kid. He reads all the time and loves it as well. And we always read before bed. He goes outside to play but he rather be inside. Again, it just depends on the kid.
ETA: My sister gave me those videos and flash cards and my son couldn’t stand them and never watched them or paid attention to the cards. He did chew on a couple. 🙂
I can’t be mad at this. This is how my grandmother talked about me and my mom talks about her grandkids. She’s just early, lol
I believe it’s simply repetition and recognition, lacking any deeper understanding. I don’t buy the hype and don’t believe for one minute that the baby is actually reading in the practical sense. But it’s great practice and I can’t see how it could possibly hurt development.
I used to prank people when my niece was about 2 years old. She would sit in a chair and start “reading” her books and not get a single word wrong. People were amazed! The trick was that she was obsessed with reading (still is, only now she’s 9 so she does her own reading!) and she would have us read the same book over and over and over until we were sick of it! She would remember every single word and since the books were my sister’s old edition of Disney stories, the vocabulary was actually super elaborate. She would sit in her bed in the evening and “read” to her dolls. Whether this method works or not, I guess it’s never a bad thing to expand kids’ vocabulary (I would say that’s pretty much the point of flashcards).
The summer before kindergarten my son had no interest in the alphabet or writing his name. My friend, who has a son a month older, tortured her boy with flash cards and songs and window markers and sidewalk chalk; at the end of summer my boy decided it was time and caught up to his buddy in a couple days. They can both read today.
I read out loud to both of my children when they were very small infants. I mean, whatever I was reading, I would read out loud if they were awake and near me. I didn’t really get to kids books until they were a bit older.
One is 14 and a veracious reader. The child reads at an adult level and plows though books so fast, it’s hard to find new ones! The other is eight and really struggling with reading. He still loves it when his daddy or I read to him, though.
I don’t know anything about the Baby Can Read thing, but I read to them that young mainly to hear words out loud for myself. When you are home with a wee babe, sometimes you just need to hear words.
her babies are as special as she is, you guys!!
I believe her of course. Mine started playing poker with 3 months.