[joannek]

Has anyone used the World Family set from DIsney. The initial set cost $29300 (!!!). When I heard my friend bought it for her 10mth old baby, I was like, "what?!" but her baby is now 16mths & know tons of vocab, and knows a lot of gestures. I wonder of he'd know those words without that ox set. maybe he's just a bright child. but i wanna know whether it really works magic with all babies.

[andymom]

You don't have to spend a lot of money to teach your baby. What I do/did:

1. Since he was born, I talked a lot to him (everytime when he was awake). I told him what I was doing at the time (opened the curtain, changed his clothes, etc). You just need to drink a lot of water after all that talking!
Before he was 1 month, he could respond back when I talked to him. 6 months, he could say: mama and papa. When I talked about the window, he turned his face to the window (I didn't even have to point it to him) etc.

2. I read books with him everyday. From here he got to know a lot of vocabularies. You don't have to buy expensive books, too.

3. When I brought him outside, I told him all the things we saw.

3. When he was 7 months old, I started to sign to him (any book will do). He signed back when he was 9 months old. We continued to use sign language till he was 12 months (by this time he could sign 50 signs already).
At 1 year, he started to talk. At 16 months, he already talked in long sentences.
His vocabulary at 2 years: more than 1000 words in English, and a few hundred words in Chinese. He could sing, and recite poems in English and Chinese. He knew colors and shapes, and could count things till 15.
Now, I try to introduce at least 1 new word everyday.

So, the key is : you (and your mouth, of course). Just talk to him everyday, tell him the names of the things around him, sing&read to him.

[rads]

I agree with anymom..

I did most of the things she did & started them when my son was very young...I used to read to him when he was 6 months old...he started saying mama at 7 months & talks full sentences at 24 months...if he does'nt know a word he'll ask me ....and incredibally he'll remember it the next time....


Good Luck

[run4fun]

I am a strong believer in early education and stimulation, but when it comes to introducing the World Family Disney set to babies, I have serious hesitation. Not that I am aganist Disney, I just don't think Disney characters should be among the FIRST things that are introduced to babies. I hate to slip in these things so early in their age that it will become part of them and be able to have great influence over them as they grow.

But I do believe that there is a market out there which might find Disney helpful. It won't teach everything, but it is a quick solution for lazy parents.

Just like andymom and rads mentioned, you could teach your child so much more than the Disney set. Preparing your own material is not difficult. There are lots of good books out there. Books on Montessori method could be good start on understanding how babies learn.

[MayC]

It's really a tough question.
My initial thought was like the posts above. How ridiculous spending that amount of money teaching our kids stuff that they'll eventually pick up at school and from you (or their peers).
But World Disney gave me two samples of their VCDs - one last year and I got one again this year (both at their promotional booths) - never intending to buy both times. Anyway, recently I decided to play them to my little one for the fun of it... and it appears that she's really into them. I've tried so many others - sesame street, barney, teletubbies, richard scarry (all of which are more popular and WAY cheaper) including Disney's Magic English (from a long time ago - borrowed from friends).... but I'm telling you, she's not as captivated with them as she is with World Disney. The sample VCDs I received have both cartoon characters and real life kiddies with actions.
I still thought nothing of it because of the huge cost involved until they told me about their instalment plan.
World Disney lets you pay in instalments like 900 - $1500 each month. It's a bit like purchasing a stereo system or a diamond ring etc except it's for your kid this time.
I don't know.... I'm still trying to decide whether or not to buy for her. I never thought I'd get talked into it.......

[MayC]

I went ahead and bought the set.... we've used it for a day already. It's lots of fun. It does make me feel guilty because it's not cheap but when I see how happy my little girl is, it makes it all worth it. And anyway, will be keeping it for my second and possible third child ;-)

[tarakoo]

i bought it too. i regreted for a while, but i am happy with it. my little girl loves it and is learning a lot.

[Rosewood]

We borrowed a few of the disney vcd's from a friend, my daughter loves them and can watch them over and over again, she's picked up a lot of words and gestures from them, which otherwise I dont think she would have done so early on, since hubby and I both work, and she is being looked after by her grandmother (ma ma) who doesnt speak a word of english - actually, tell a lie, even ma ma has picked up a few words from the tapes ! We've tried Barney, Tweenies etc, but my daughter is not interested, its always Disney that she wants. But having said that, I still dont think I would go out and buy the whole set, they are too expensive, I'll settle on borrowing the odd disc from my friend since she doesnt mind.