Beyonce Knowles: My one year old daughter already knows how to read

[Mason Kennedy]

Beyonce's daughter, Blue Ivy, is a genius. The child was born in January, 2012.

The claim was made by Beyonce in Oprah's show.

"She is hilarious and she is fire. Lord, am I going to have me a time!" Knowles told Oprah Winfrey on Oprah's Next Chapter. "She's very smart. She's already reading flash cards. She's beautiful."

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2013/02/19/blue-ivy-flash-cards/1929207/

[Laurian]

1. Recognizing a flash card image is absolutely possible at one year.

Are you questioning her assertion? Our grand babies were recognizing hand signals earlier than that. It just requires frequent and consistent interaction with the child.

[Mason Kennedy]

2. I believe her

I believe Blue Ivy can read the words associated with the images she can recognize.

[Nevernose]

48. Recognizing flash card images isn't the same thing as reading

That having been said, it's amazing how much a very young child can learn, and how incredibly fast. Like your grandchildren, my nieces (both of whom had the same deaf parents) could actually sign for "food" at six months, far younger than a child could verbally, and could sign for "dirty" before they could walk.

[SheilaT]

51. It is my understanding that children of the deaf do learn to sign

much, much earlier than hearing children of hearing parents learn to speak.

[auntsue]

54. Kids with Down syndrom

can learn sign as early as a "typical" child. My neice is 30 now but was among the pioneer group taught sign as a "bridge" to language. She speaks (with a lisp) reads, writes, does basic math, and can keep score at the baseball game. Basic signs are almost intuituitive.

[Arkansas Granny]

3. I think that it's entirely possible that she can recognize flash cards.

She'll have to stay on her toes with one that smart.

[Mason Kennedy]

7. Not only recognize the image, but read the word

A genius indeed.

[Dreamer Tatum]

4. Great - let her read her dad's lyrics sometime

Should give her some insight into who he really is.

[bamacrat]

5. He is a terrible person.

[msanthrope]

6. Indeed. nt

[Hassin Bin Sober]

25. Who is her father?

[KamaAina]

33. Rap star Jay-Z

his lyrics are like those of most other rappers.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

36. Oh I get it.

Bill O'Reilly contingent.

[Number23]

58. "Bill O'Reilly contingent."

I don't get that. Can you explain what this means?

[octothorpe]

69. O'Reilly doesn't like Jay-Z, therefore anyone else who doesn't like Jay-Z is with Billy Boy...

Can't say I agree I with that stance though. Although, I personally have no opinion of Jay-Z either way.

[KamaAina]

72. O'Falafel doesn't seem to like any rappers.

His most public feud was with Ludacris.

[octothorpe]

85. Oh yeah...

I thought it was someone else he was going after. I remember it had something to do with pepsi, right?

[KamaAina]

86. Yup.

O'Really? wanted people to stop drinking that brand of HFCS-flavored water because they had Ludacris in an ad.

[tarheelsunc]

98. A man who has 99 problems but Mitt ain't one. eom

[Agschmid]

56. So according all of you she should just go ahead

and disown her father early on. Sounds like a great plan.

Oye.

[SunsetDreams]

8. Beyonce did not say what the title of your OP says

My one year old daughter already knows how to read is VERY DIFFERENT

than "She's already reading flash cards".



She doesn't say she can already read books, it was flash cards. At that age it is highly possible that a toddler can look at an image with a word and make the association. That is how so many children begin to read, picture/word association.

[Mason Kennedy]

10. So...she doesn't know how to read but she was reading

Interesting.

And... an image is not read. A word is. To see an elephant and saying "elephant" even if the word is not there is not reading.

Is the word "elephant" involved in the action performed by said child? If not, she was not reading.

[SunsetDreams]

12. Reading flash cards is very different

from what you appear to making this into. Something that Beyonce did not claim.

[Mason Kennedy]

13. Why did the author call the baby a "brainiac" if she was doing something "highly possible"?

Could it be that you claim the author of the article interpreted Beyonce's word in the exact same way as I did?

I mean, recognizing a picture doesn't take a genius, or does it?

[snooper2]

17. I guess my daughter is a genius as well

[SunsetDreams]

19. You appear to be making it seem that those

were Beyonce's words. There is a big difference.

The title of your OP is not even the title of the article. "Beyonce Knowles: My one year old daughter already knows how to read"

Beyonce didn't make that claim, nor did the author. The author did make the interpretation that it was "brainiac and genius", maybe you could argue that point with the author.

[Mason Kennedy]

21. If one can read a flashcard, one knows how to read

If Blue Ivy reads the flashcards, then she reads the words. In order to read she would know how to recognize the letters as opposed to knowing to utter the names of images.

You either know the "a" sound or you don't, regardless of whether an image accompanies the word.

And I already contacted the author asking why in the world he/she called the baby a brainiac. Since you believe this was not the act of a brainiac, I think you should contact the author too.

[SunsetDreams]

23. It's really not that big of a deal

to me that a child of that age can read flash cards, at least not in the way you are making it. Therefore, I do not need to contact the author. I think reading flash cards at any age, whether it is a one year old or a thirty year old who has had a brain injury is something to be celebrated not picked apart.

[fishwax]

55. "read" means different things in different contexts

Saying her child can read a flashcard is not necessarily the same as saying the child can read printed text (or read music, or read sign language, or read animal sign, or read tea leaves, etc.).

[TlalocW]

9. I don't doubt that the kid might be able to say

"Flower," when you hold up a picture of a flower with the word underneath it, but I doubt she can actually read the word underneath it.

TlalocW

[Mason Kennedy]

11. Correct. When a child sees a balls and says "ball!"...

the parent does not usually tell her/his friends that the child can read something.

[leftynyc]

14. Are you really going to be this petty?

What else could "reading flash cards" possibly mean?

[Laurian]

24. +1000

To be so critical of this benign article seems ridiculous and petty.

[Number23]

59. The OP does seem especially... worked up about this. Wonder why??

[bighart]

15. Vocabulary and speech in a 12 month old child is very limited.

How would you even be able to tell if a child was "reading" at this age as they can only speak 10 or so words understandably?

[Arkansas Granny]

20. What you say may be true about some or even most 12 month olds, but there are

some who master speech much earlier than others. My daughter had a pretty good vocabulary at 12 months and was quite understandable. She was able to speak in complete sentences before she was 18 months old. Children develop at different rates. That's how they come up with the averages in child development.

[kestrel91316]

16. This is not outside the realm of possibility. My niece

taught herself to read by the age of 2. When she was 3 weeks old, however, she appeared to be able to follow conversations because she would look back and forth between two people as they spoke to each other.

She was reading cookbooks and picking out interesting recipes (after having made sure all the ingredients were in stock at home beforehand) at age 4, and was also reading the daily newspaper and able to converse about the subject matter.

[Enrique]

18. omg a mother bragging about her kid

go get her!!!!

[lunasun]

77. Really what is with the Beyonce Haters here?? Way too teaparty petty these postings

Reminds me of stuff put out by teabags about the first lady

Now they are on her husband who took himself from growing up in a single parent home in the projects to an entrepreneur with a 2012 net worth ( per Forbes) of 5 million.....terrible people both of them !
Forbes even said so!

and the post title is not even a quote

[Apophis]

22. I doubt her kid can read.

Understanding flashcards is different.

[Capt. Obvious]

26. So is Blue Ivory Carter an Indigo

or a Crystal Child?

[Dreamer Tatum]

37. if by that you mean "asshole," it's too early to tell

[lunasun]

79. You think Indigo children are assholes?

[gollygee]

27. Another thread for hating on Beyonce?

It's been so long since the last ones!

Her baby might very well be very smart and have a good vocabulary. Reading flashcards is probably more about identifying pictures and having a good vocabulary. It's great she has a smart child. Yay for her! I don't understand the negativity.

[obamanut2012]

30. I know, right?

Beyonce has never gotten in any trouble, is self made, does a lot of charity stuff, is talented (although not my cup of tea), and appears to be an enthusiastic and good mom. It makes me want to go and download a bunch of Beyonce and DC stuff from iTunes.

I don't get it.

And, on a shallow note, Ivy is the cutest kid.

[bettyellen]

44. it's because she faked her whole pregnancy

and poor thing has tolerated Jay cheating on her since forever. I guess that's show people for you.

[Number23]

60. What in the world are you talking about?

it's because she faked her whole pregnancy

[bettyellen]

65. She used a surrogate and some pillows.

Which is her choice, of course. But she faked it pretty sloppily- in pics went from flat belly to 5 month bump on one week.
A friend works for a business with Jay and he doesn't try to hide his creeping from anyone, never has.
So she's a very driven, pragmatic lady presenting a false image of perfection.
The fake bump is hilarious though.

[Number23]

67. I take great comfort in believing that you are probably the only person in the world

that believes that story.

She used a surrogate and some pillows.

Wow. Probably one of the dumbest things I've ever seen here. And that is truly saying something.



This child looks just like her mama and daddy, especially dad. And even a .003 second search on Google will show plenty of pics of Beyonce with a pregnant belly such as this one

I can understand people with nothing better to do (mostly teenagers) creating these types of myths. But I damn sure don't understand any person, particularly an adult, falling for them.

[Number23]

78. Thanks for that. Wendy Williams is about as reliable as the town drunk after

a liquid breakfast. Her tummy did do something weird there but I see no reason for Beyonce to fake this whole thing.

If there was a plus to it or it could have benefited her in some way, I could see it. But what benefit would she have gotten from a fake pregnancy? No one cares if she gets pregnant or not, she's not royalty. This whole thing just sounds really stupid and pointless.

[bettyellen]

81. I used pillows because the prosthetic was so phony looking

And you can see it, and not the dress bulge and fold in the pics. She overdid it the first time she went out with a 4-5 month size belly because she had been photographed with no bump at all just the week before.
I work with prosthetics and study pregnant women's bodies for a living, and i have to say, she did a really poor job of faking it.
She was expressing interest in adding maternity and baby clothes to her line. It's all about image. Not really shocking, just kind of funny.

[bettyellen]

82. Dumb would be thinking surrogates contribute to the genetics, LOL.

And having too much time on your hands could lead to having a collection of Beyonce's pics in your photobucket account.
You didn't know she could get the same look from a prosthetic? What surrogates do? Wow.

[Number23]

87. I showed pics of the baby in case you were going to next suggest that she paid someone

else who was pregnant to give her the baby and she'd pretend it was hers. I mean, if you're going to believe the foolishness you typed up thread, I get the feeling you'd probably fall for just about anything.

And I don't have a Photobucket account and said that I found the pics from .0003 seconds of Googling. But you keep on with your clever and obviously very important to you "Beyonce Pregnancy Conspiracy Theories." At least it's keeping you off the streets.

[bettyellen]

89. no, your post clearly argued there'd be mixed genes, which is ignorant

of what surrogacy is.
her belly went from flat to 4 1/2 mo bump in just one week, and I'm afraid that just doesn't happen in real life. but her appeal is to those who want to believe in fairy tales, so it works out just fine for her fans.

[Number23]

90. There was no "argument" about mixed genes.

You're pulling that squarely out of your behind.

I noted only that the child looked just like her mama and daddy because most bored/simple/confused people that do the "she wasn't really pregnant" line about a new mother soon seem to always fall into the "well, she paid for someone else's kid" angle and I just wanted to save you the trouble.

I am fully aware of what a surrogate is and does. And maybe I just didn't study Beyonce as hard as you seemingly have because I didn't notice that "her belly went from flat to 4 1/2 mo bump in just one week." But I guess that's the price I must pay for having much better things to do with my time.

[bettyellen]

91. So your post about their genes was about something you

Thought I was going to say, instead of what I clearly said. Ha ha.
Yeah, sure.... If it makes you feel better about yourself, LOL.

[Number23]

94. I can understand your need to deflect

Because I'd be embarrassed to have brought all of this idiocy up too, but yes that's exactly what happened. And despite your need to make YOURSELF feel better by pretending that I argued about "mixed genes," that's exactly why I posted the pic -- to stave off any future argument that the kid wasn't actually hers.

I look forward to your ground-breaking and no doubt THOROUGHLY researched expose on whether Beyonce has had ass implants.

[bettyellen]

95. so you responded to my future post, LOL and not to what I posted. Fucking brilliant excuse...

for not having a clue what surrogates are.

[Number23]

96. It's not too hard to figure out where bored people with more time than brains will go

If I spent five seconds researching "Beyonce used a surrogate" I am willing to bet I will get damn near as many posts from people proclaiming the kid wasn't hers. And as matter of fact, I just did a quick search and that is EXACTLY what I found. For every thread about the alleged "surrogacy," there was one about how her assistant/best friend/next door neighbor's great-granddaughter was the one who was actually pregnant.

And what's really worthy is that damn near every single link with "proof" of her "surrogacy" had the grey or red x that Macafee assigns to questionable web sites so you are in A1 prime company, honey! You roll with an EXCELLENT crowd.

"Celebrity" conspiracy theorists (and really, if you're going to conjure up a conspiracy, damn couldn't it be about something important/intelligent/that actually matters??!) aren't too hard to figure out. But you keep pretending that you know what you're talking about or even more humorously, that because I did a pre-emptive strike on your foolishness, I don't know what a surrogate is. Bored with this topic and you. See ya.

[bettyellen]

97. it's been fun for me! cracks me up that it could bother anyone so much, LOL.

[JaneyVee]

28. It's possible to read flash cards at 1 years old.

[obamanut2012]

29. Beyonce didn't say whay you're accusing her of in your OP

A one-year-old child can definitely "read" flash cards,

Am getting tired of the DU Beyonce dogpile. Beyonce Knowles is a decent person and a good mom.

[hunter]

31. I learned to read before I properly learned to talk.

I don't remember not knowing how to read, but I do remember not knowing how to talk. My parents read a lot to us and also used flash cards. I was reading very well when I started kindergarten.

In the first and second grade while the other kids were doing their reading exercises I was sent out to work with the speech therapist. I remember sessions where I just sat there stubbornly and silently. It was a lot of frustration for everyone involved.

My wife and I allowed our kids to learn to read at a more natural pace. We read to them often and they picked up reading from that, motivated by wanting to read books by themselves. Our kids are both excellent readers and brilliant writers. Our oldest has graduated from college and is now teaching English. I like to think our more naturalistic method of teaching our kids to read has turned out a little better than my parent's more assertive approach.

It's my personal opinion (not backed by any research, of course...) that while kid's are still in that "magic" phase of learning a language that verbal and listening skills ought to take precedence to reading skills, or at least be simultaneous with them. Learning to read in advance of adequate speaking or listening skills warped my facility with language in an unfavorable way.

Nevertheless, it's great to see Beyonce and Oprah promoting early education. Everyone with a brain ought to be pushing back against the anti-intellectualism of U.S. society.

[RandySF]

32. I hear this from parents all the time.

And when I ask the kid to read, he/she is clueless.

[KamaAina]

34. Could Blue Ivy be Autistic?

Very early reading is called "hyperlexia". For instance, I was reading the Baltimore News-American at a year and a half. (Yes, I know I'm dating myself with that. )

[RebelOne]

35. I was reading before I even entered kindergarten.

In fact, when we moved and I was enrolled in a new school, I was supposed to go into the 2nd grade. But the principal had me read from a 5th grade book. I had no problem reading from it, so I was skipped into the 3rd grade. The only problem I had was that when I was in 1st grade, I had not learned to write in long hand. I had only been printing. I had a heck of a problem with that.

[smirkymonkey]

43. So was I. I was reading Dr. Seuss Books at the age of three.

My mom died when I was a baby so the only thing my dad knew what to do with me was read to me. I picked it up pretty quickly. I was put into advanced reading classes early. I was always in advanced classes but eventually dumbed downed to be accepted. I was made fun of so I learned how to conform to be accepted.

[RebelOne]

74. That is what is wrong with today's kids.

They have to dumb themselves down to be accepted by their peers. My daughter teaches reading comprehension and English in a middle school in South Florida. She told me that the papers they turn in are incomprehensible because they are all used to just texting on their cell phones. They do not understand spelling or correct punctuation.

[smirkymonkey]

75. It kind of sucked because my name sort of rhymed with "computer" and that is what kids taunted me

with. I started to purposely screw up just to not be looked upon as a nerd. However, it ultimately hurt me in that it impaired my academic standing and my ability to excel in school. I was too embarrassed to be a smart person. It wasn't cool.

[Dreamer Tatum]

38. "My child is a genius" - Every Tedious Parent in Recorded History

Amplified by the adulation poured on her and her husband. I am sure that this child can see through walls
and expel lightning from its fingertips.

[Orrex]

40. Ain't that the truth!

I used to work in a hobby store catering to customers ranging from late teens through 80 or so. Every week we'd get a parent checking out this or that 1000-piece kit for their two-year-old, and in every case they'd tell us "oh, she's very advanced."

I'm sure. Let me know if those small plastic bits show up in the kid's diaper.

Just once I wanted a parent to come in and say "My kid's kind of dim. What do you have along the lines of a sponge ball?"

[proud2BlibKansan]

93. Way too many parents believe their child is gifted.

The math just doesn't add up on that claim.

[alp227]

46. ESPECIALLY if said kid is in the Lucky Sperm Club like Beyonce/Jay-Z!

[Myrina]

39. Let's hope she teaches her mom then

Remember the articles not too long ago about the letter B wrote to FLOTUS and how worse-than-elementary the spelling and grammar were? I'll try to find the link but yah, little Ivy doesn't come from a pair of intellectual heavy-hitters, by any means.

[PennsylvaniaMatt]

45. I agree! I like Beyonce, but look at the grammar she used...

...when she was talking about her daughter:

"Lord, am I going to have me a time!"

Huh?



Again, I'm not trying to hate on Beyoncé!

[Robb]

47. Take it from a veteran grammar nazi:

If you're gonna critique grammar, you've gotta spell it rite.

[RudynJack]

53. You never heard of a dialect?

[Bucky]

63. "Have a time" is a fairly common idiom in American English. (cf, Lefty Frizzel)

(Both Hank Williams and Willie Nelson covered this joint, by the by, so don't be hatin' on idioms)

[Orrex]

41. I hope that the baby doesn't read some of the nasty shit people posted on DU about her mom

Reading stuff like that can scar a kid!

[cyberswede]

42. You should edit your inaccurate thread title.

It's unflattering to you.

[Generic Brad]

49. My kid started speaking at 5 weeks

She demanded "Food". And after she had her first taste of rice cereal, she pronounced it "Good".

I have no reason to doubt Beyonce on this one. I have lived through the unreal and unbelievable.

[mokawanis]

50. I want to run out of the room at top speed

whenever a parent tells me how smart their kid is. Everybody says it, whether it's true or not.

[Warpy]

52. After an embarrassing cross country bus trip when I was two,

during which I read out loud the signs on every gin mill on the way, "Hey, that one says LAGER!" my mother decided I was quite old enough to learn how to read, so she bought some phonics books and taught me. It had the desired effect of getting me out of her hair, although she was less than pleased when I quoted Dr. Spock to her on the issue of spanking.

I don't think early reading is that uncommon or that special. A lot of otherwise ordinary kids (me) are quite ready to learn reading along with speech.

[JCMach1]

57. first time parents

[Spider Jerusalem]

61. Recognising flash cards isn't necessarily "reading"...

although it's quite possible to start reading early; I learnt to read on my own, more or less, around the age of 2 (one night my mother was reading me a bedtime story and I took the book from her and read it to here; she was apparently quite surprised).

[Bucky]

62. Based on the last Beyonce song I heard, I'd believe that child is already writing song lyrics.

[Egnever]

64. Winner!

[FSogol]

66. Let us know when she learns to lip sync

[octothorpe]

71. lol +1

[octothorpe]

70. A co-worker of mine has his daughter using some program.

He says it's amazing how much his one year old daughter has learned from it.

[winter is coming]

76. I've seen ads for those. I always wonder what the big rush is. n/t

[guardian]

73. Big deal

my baby can dance

[MrSlayer]

80. What is it with people treating this Beyonce like a god?

She can sing and dance, so fucking what? People have been doing that with as much or more skill for centuries. She's nothing special, her music is generic crap.

Howard Stern was playing that interview on his show today and it made me want to puke. Between she and Oprah I don't know which one had their tongue further up the other one's ass.

Oprah was practically calling her a god, it was beyond ridiculous. Thank the gods Howard was there with his biting commentary to make it palatable. Listen to a clip if you can find one, hilarious.

[cash__whatiwant]

84. I love Beyonce

but this was funny

[Captain Stern]

88. Funny clip.

The content and commentary is funny.

But what makes it funnier is that Robin (Stern's sidekick) has made a career out of kissing Howard's ass on the air. She's to Howard what Ed McMahon was to Carson....and she's laughing about somebody else kissing ass.

[proud2BlibKansan]

92. I don't believe that for a minute.