I think part of my issue with the flashcards is that I'm not following DD's lead. DD isn't interested in reading at all. Or being read to. Not as a baby, not as a toddler, and not now as a 4 year old. From early on every few months I tried to establish the habit of reading before bed, and it always failed. DD would squirm away, or shut the book, or find something else to play with, or hum to herself, or jump around in bed, or outright tell me she didn't want me to read.
Then I wondered if maybe the reason she didn't like it was just because she couldn't do it herself (totally in character for her). That's why I borrowed the flash cards. I figured if I pushed/coaxed/bribed her for a few days to learn some words then she'd gain some independence and hopefully start to enjoy reading a bit more. And I think it's worked. Last night she let me read her two books (!) and she even read a simple reader (mostly) by herself.
She's pretty impatient, so I think recognising words without needing to decode them makes reading easier/faster/less work/more enjoyable for her. Now the question is should I push her to learn more words in the hope that it will increase her independence/enjoyment of reading, or back off. FWIW, my 'pushing' means spending about 5 min a day with the flash cards while DD4 huffs and makes a bored face, and there's usually some form of food bribery involved...
