I feel like such a hypocrite when these programs come up in conversation.
The truth is, I think they are pretty awful. I don't think learning to read early is necessarily a good thing--and certainly not something that is worth slaving over. In fact, when "they" say the dreaded kids-even-out-in-reading-by-third-grade thing, I am pretty sure it is because of kids who learned to read through these programs. They likely do even out, because even though they may have a head start, early reading does not make them gifted. In fact, I am not aware of any benefit whatsoever from these programs.
The reason I feel like a hypocrite is that my 3 year old is a fluent reader. I feel like I can't tell people to wait to teach their kids to read when my DD3 reads whole books on her own, fluently, and with feeling and comprehension. Of course I did NOT teach her (though I did sometimes let her play around on Starfall).
Also, I have no opinion on whether all kids can be taught to read, but whenever I see early reading discussed in the literature as being a sign of giftedness, it is almost invariably distinguished as being self-taught early reading. So I presume that it is possible to teach a ND child to "read" early at least to some extent. I don't know how much work it takes...but I am pretty sure that regardless of how much work it is, it is all a waste of time.
