19-Month-Old Baby Boy Shows Off Some Serious Reading Skills

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Most parents believe that their baby is bright and advanced, but for one North Carolina Mom, LaToya Whiteside – she really has something to talk about.

Whiteside captured some footage of her son Carter reading off place cards, which has now been shared extensively over social media.

Whilst most children only begin to read once they start going to school, little Carter is believed to have learned more than 300 words already and is even able to count all the way up to 50.

In the clip, Carter clearly reads and articulates a number of words including “are”, “was”, “to” “like”, “made”, “her” “an”, “many” and cutely stumbles on the word “over” which has two syllables. He even notices when a card is upside down!

At the end of the video Carter finishes the pack by reading the card in his mom’s hand, the word “call”.

According to WebMD, by 18 months of age, babies are usually able to say about 10 simple words and can point to objects, people, and body parts which you name for them. They will repeat words or sounds they hear you say, like the last word in a sentence.

Little Carter must be a fast learner then!

Is it really possible for babies to learn to read?

According to research conducted by New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development, the answer is no.

The researchers involved 117 babies and had half the group use DVD’s, flashcards and books while the other half did not.  In 13 out of 14 assessments (which included the ability to recognize letter names, letter sounds and vocabulary) the researchers found that there was no difference between the two groups.

The only category in which there was a difference was the parents of the children exposed to the reading product – who were convinced that their children were, in fact, learning to read and say new words.

If this research is accurate, how is Carter’s ability then explained?

According to the Washington Post, Wiley Blevins, an author and educational consultant says that

“Very early “reading” is more likely babies seeing words as pictures. They see a squiggly line on the page or TV screen and associate it with a specific word, which is a very primitive form of reading,”  

Whatever the case may be, Carter’s parents still have a lot to boast about!