I've had people stop me and ask what kind of flashcard system I used, what reading program I used etc. It's kind of funny because I DO have neighbors who have done the whole "strap your 8 mo old into a high chair and give them a treat for looking at flashcards" thing. It didn't work out too well for them.
Things seem to have become less noticeable as he gets older. He's very tall for not quite 6 so people tend to think he's older too. It's less rare to see a 7 year old reading a chapter book in Costco than a 5 year old!
My standard response though is still "I didn't do anything, he just came this way." People usually get confused and wonder where I "got" him :-)
The sad thing is there are programs that parents utilize that is just like this... Mybabycanread is the one that comes to mind. I have heard people spout off about this program on other boards and it goes against everything in my being... I really don't know why. Then last weekend I was flipping through the channels and saw that they have an infomerical so I recorded it to see what this program is that a few rave about. It is clearly a strap them in the highchair and feed them flashcards system.
Does this fall under the Baby Einstein syndrome? The argument is the synopses from infancy to age 5 is at the highest and by using systems like this you are tapping into their raw abilities. So the babies that pick up a few words through this system, are they gifted or will they even out?
But I think with programs like this, those of us that did not push our children do get lumped in with them. It really is frustrating.
