Baby Babble - Speech-Enhancing for Babies and Toddlers

I swear by this DVD in multiple ways. I don't let my son watch television so this is it when it comes to screen time which happens either when I'm with him interacting or sick or exhausted and need a breather. Either way, he LOVES this DVD and can actually almost say DVD now. He will go to the laptop and point and motion until I put it on sometimes. In the beginning which was maybe around 9 mos, I would plop him on the couch with me and he'd just watch and sometimes crawl closer to the television. I really think he learned about 'up' and 'down' and 'in' and 'out' from this video. Starting around 16 months, he would sit with an empty apple juice container putting objects into it one at a time sayijng 'in' with each object exactly like the video does. I think he may have learned colors as well. He knows the DVD quite well and will often start making sounds for the upcoming image before it appears on the screen. If I had to guess, I'd say he's seen the whole DVD 30 times. He copies the speech therapists when they make vowel sounds and it's the cutest, coolest thing. The variety of sounds and noises and visuals of mouth movements and tongue exercises interspersed with toys keeps a child's attention and keeps them focused on developing the mouth control to speak well. People are often shocked when my son says things because he's direct, enunciates well and has a broad vocabulary for his age. I attribute it partly to this DVD. I also taught him baby sign language and talk to him ad nauseum about everything under the sun from artists to construction to whatever we happen to be passing in the stroller in NYC. I've read a lot about language and it's influence over a child's success in life so I'm quite focused on this aspect of his development. I honestly don't know exactly how many words he speaks now because some days there are multiple new words and I can't keep up. I've counted up to 60 but I know I'm missing some and he's said at least 10 new ones since then. It could be 90. Just the other day, he pointed to the sky and said "moon" which floored me because I can't remember the last time we talked about it and he said it perfectly the first time. He can also say more difficult words like "upstairs," "airport" and "flowers." I also wanted to mention that I'm aware of the recommendation by the American Academy of Pediatrics that children not watch tv before 2 yo. I'd read that it not only isn't good for them but takes away from real learning time which is why I've tried to make myself available as much as possible to watch the DVD with my son and comment, ask questions or react throughout. Based on what I've seen, he's learned a great deal from this DVD. I'm not saying the AAP is wrong. I think, as a parent, you use your best judgment based on your particular child and assess along the way. I also wanted to mention that when I first got the DVD after reading so many rave reviews and watched it, I was totally underwhelmed. Give it time. It took my son 6 mos before I started seeing benefit after benefit from this product.

This video is the best I've seen for enhancing speech. I bought it when my son was 19mos old and only had two words in his vocabulary "Go" and "Ball". When I first played it for him he watched it intently but didn't seem to respond to it verbally. At 24 mos old he has been in speech therapy for three months and his vocabulary now consist of about thirty words/signs. Some he will speak,some he will sign or both. Some he understands but doesn't yet speak or sign (receptive language is just as important as spoken language). I pulled the video back out and started playing it for him at bedtime while in his crib(this way he isn't distracted). I hear him talking with the video. Not only does he repeat the sounds he hears but he says the words. He also laughs,sings and dances to it. Alot of it mirrors what he learns in his speech therapy. But that is the beauty of the video-to have a speech therapist in your home. I have only been playing it for him for a week and he is beginning to memorize the video. I noticed he is telling me what comes next on the video. I couldn't believe it when he looked at me and signed please and said "peeezzz".I looked up at the video and the next thing I knew the speech pathologist in the video came on and signed and said "please". He will go through the vowel sounds with the stuffed animal but he will say what is coming next. Before the bear came on and ate a few carrots my son rubbed his tummy then said yummmm. Then he pretended to eat a carrot too. The video may not appeal to an adult audience but that isn't what it is designed for. It is an educational tool for children. I really like how the women in the video are dressed to blend into the background so the focus is on their mouths. The sounds may appear silly to an adult but are important to speech development. The video gives ideas for how to play with the toys he already has while encouraging speech through play. Just this week he has learned the meaning of up and down. I saw the use of balloons for "up" and "down". I did the same with a balloon left over from his birthday party. I said "down-down-down-down" as I pulled the string down and "UUUUUUUUPPPP" as I released it and WOW after 3 times he had it. Believe me the small amount you pay for the video is worth it when one 30 minute session of speech therapy costs me $75. I just wish I hadn't been so quick to put the DVD away for those few months when he didn't respond as I had wished when he was first introduced to it. It truly is worth the small price tag. If you are a parent whose child has the slightest speech delay buy it. Used in conjunction with speech therapy I'm sure you will soon see a different child emerge.

I never write reviews but I felt the need to do so for this DVD, in hopes it helps other parents decide to try it. My son was 22 months old and on the waitlist for speech therapy when we purchased in December of this year. At that point he was saying no words at all, but making some animal noises, very little babble and getting frustrated if we asked him to try.. From the first time he watched this DVD he was enthralled, and kept signing for "more". By his 2nd birthday he'd learned 10-15 words and one of his favourite words is "Babble" which is him requesting to watch! He follows along, mimics every sound and word, and even my 6 months old watches happily. It's been such a positive experience to watch my toddler start to try new words and to be so happy about it, I really can't say enough about this product!

I don't like it.

This is amazing. My little one wasn't much of a talker and now he doesn't shut up! This video did wonders for my child.

Well done. Kept kid's interest.