As a parent, you want your child to have every advantage they can. You try your best to do everything you can to help your child get ahead of the game. Other times, your child may be struggling and you may be searching for a way to help them overcome a specific difficulty. In either situation, the “My Baby Can Talk” series is a great educational resource!
My oldest daughter has a speech delay. We had her evaluated shortly after her second birth since we were concerned that she only spoke in one word, and rarely, two word phrases. Her evaluation revealed that she was at a 17 month expressive level when she was 27 months old. We were concerned and started toying with the idea of teaching her signs, in addition to working on her language skills, that way she at least had an option to which ways she could communicate in. We had a difficult time figuring out some of the signs from looking at books.
Then we got the “My Baby Can Talk” DVD series and book set. I was skeptical that my daughter would like it, and was mostly interested in using it with my son, however, when I put it on, my daughter was glued! She absolutely loved the DVD’s. She gets to watch one movie a day, and for weeks her selection was a “My Baby Can Talk” DVD.
I started noticing that she was attempting the signs shown in the videos, and she was repeating the words the narrator of the film was saying. She was absolutely loving the DVD series, and shortly after, she started using two, three and even four word sentences! Ever since we started using the “My Baby Can Talk” DVD series, her language skills have progressively improved. Even her speech therapist (who she meets with weekly) told us she was impressed with my daughter’s increased vocabulary!
The actual DVD’s are great. They seem simple, and they are, but in a very engaging way. They use bright colors, along with multiple clips of one word, but in varying presentations, such as a video of toy cat, or a real cat, a stuffed cat and more. The music was bouncy and light without being annoying like so many children’s DVD’s are. The signs are presented multiple times, and in a very clear, easy to repeat manner. It was easy to follow along. The DVD even had a tutorial section just for parents giving them tips and pointers on how to best help your child learn, practice and engage in signing!
My Overall Review
Based on five factors, each ranging from one star to five stars which are then averaged out, the “My Baby Can Talk” series received 4.0 stars!
Fulfills Purpose Well – 5 Stars
As I stated previously, I absolutely loved the DVD series. I really do believe that it helped my daughter increase her verbal and expressive skills. They did a great job choosing signs that are easy to use in everyday life.
Design & Visual Appeal – 5 Stars
The DVD’s are great, and very bright, full of activity, but not too busy. Just enough to attract and hold the child’s attention!
Ease of Use – 4 Stars
It takes a little bit to get the hang of it, but once you’ve watched the DVD’s as well as the tutorial a couple times, it gets pretty easy to sign along during the movies with your child, as well as while you’re reading the books.
Affordability – 3 Stars
The series runs a little less than $20 per video, and around $25 for the three book series, which may seem a little pricy, but for the kind of resource it is, it’s worth it, however, it might not fit into every families budget. For families on a budget, I recommend that the “Early Signs” and “Sharing Signs” DVD’s be purchased at the minimum as they are invaluable and be applied to everyday situations and routines.
Earth-Friendliness – 3 Stars
Earth-friendliness wasn’t emphasized for this product, and was not very applicable to this particular product.
Overall, I was very impressed with this DVD series and am so thankful of all the help it provided to my family in helping my daughter make the steps to overcome her speech delay and learn communication skills that she can use!
