Baby reading

[[File:Jack Reading Baby 411.jpg|thumb|right|165px|Baby reading about babies.]]{{pseudosciencenav}}
'''Baby reading''' claims that babies can learn how to read and that that has all sorts of benefits.

==Does it work?==
Basically, no. Research with 117 babies and the ''Your Baby Can Read'' program showed no difference in language development or reading skills.<ref>http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-02/nyu-cbl022514.php</ref>

==Your Baby Can Read==
The best known method is '''Your Baby Can Read''' from '''Robert C. Titzer''',  although this company (Your Baby Can, LLC) went out of business in 2012 due to the high costs of fighting the FTC's false advertising claims.<ref>David Crary, [https://archive.is/JNSGp Your Baby Can Read Company Going Out Of Business]. Archived from ''Huffpost'', 16 July 2012.</ref> Titzer got a $300,000 fine for false advertising in 2014 because he "misrepresented that scientific studies proved the claims".<ref>[https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2014/08/defendants-settle-ftc-charges-related-your-baby-can-read-program?utm_source=govdelivery Defendants Settle FTC Charges Related to “Your Baby Can Read” Program. Prohibited from Using Term “Your Baby Can Read” in Future Marketing]. United States Federal Trade Commission, 22 August 2014.</ref> Oops!

It has since been restarted as '''Your Baby Can Learn'''. The website's footer says "Dr. Titzer and the Infant Learning Company are not affiliated with the company Your Baby Can, LLC.", which is a rather strange claim as Titzer was involved with Your Baby Can, LLC for 15 years.

===Credentialism===
{{main|Credentialism}}
Titzer often uses his Dr. and Ph.D. titles for advertising. His Ph.D. is in Human Performance, and his bio says that "he worked in infant development laboratories conducting important theoretical experiments related to infant learning" and "Dr. Titzer has become a recognizable expert in the area of infant learning and his work has been published in scientific journals".<ref>https://yourbabycanlearn.com/index.php/about-dr-titzer/</ref> However, Human Performance is related to the study of motor skills, which is not quite the same as learning how to read. When pressed, Titzer admits that he is "not a traditional expert as far as reading, a reading specialist person. I'm looking at this from a different perspective."<ref>http://www.webcitation.org/5zUiGBDea</ref>

Titzer has published three publications in a journal, in 1993 (a journal article), 1998 (his Ph.D. thesis), and 1999 (a single-page conference abstract).<ref>[http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00222895.1993.9941647 The Influence of Reminder Trials on Contextual Interference Effects] by John B. Shea & Robert C. Titzer. Journal of Motor Behavior. Volume 25, 1993 - Issue 4.</ref><ref>[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/35033034_Infants'_understanding_of_transparency_a_reinterpretation_of_studies_using_the_object_retrieval_task_and_visual_cliff Infants' understanding of transparency: a reinterpretation of studies using the object retrieval task and visual cliff] by Robert Craig Titzer. Ph.D. Thesis, Indiana University, 1997.</ref><ref>[http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016363839891935X Infants' and toddlers' abilities to visually discriminate written words] by Robert C. Titzer. ''Infant Behavior and Development'' (1998) vol. 21, Supplement, page 722. doi:10.1016/S0163-6383(98)91935-X.</ref> Two of those relate to baby reading; but the fact that it's published doesn't mean it's ''true''.

==See also==
*[[Baby yoga]]

==External links==
* [https://yourbabycanlearn.com/ Your Baby Can Learn]
* [http://www.intellbaby.com/teach_your_baby_to_read.html IntellectualBaby]
* [http://www.kidsii.com/brands/baby-einstein Baby Einstein]
* [[Larry Sanger]] [http://larrysanger.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/How-and-Why-I-Taught-My-Toddler-to-Read.pdf wrote a whopping 131-page essay] strongly defending Baby Reading. It's long and full of anecdotes so it must be true!

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

[[Category:Pseudoscience]]

Categories: Pseudoscience