About.com Rating



MPAA Rating: NA
Genre: Babies/Childrens educational
Age Range: 1-3 years
Runtime: 60 minutes

Phonics 4 Babies - Overview

Join Mallory Lewis and her Tummy Tots for a colorful and musical introduction to words, phrases, letters, shapes and more. Mallory lives in a bright and child-like CG animated world where she and her Tummy Tots, vibrant puppets resembling bug-like creatures, explore new words and concepts together.

Giggles, the orange Tummy Tot, calls Mallory her mommy, and Mallory teaches her many of the things mothers teach their children.

The DVD contains two half-hour episodes of Phonics 4 Babies, and each episode is formatted in short learning segments divided by games and songs. The games interactively involve viewing children by asking them to find objects, say words, or try different movements, and the songs reinforce the words or concept being explored in the segments.

Phonics 4 Babies - Guide Review

The Phonics 4 Babies DVDs offer colorful and engaging programs that are also educational for small children. Mallory and her puppet characters role play situations that are part of every day life for babies and children, and they do so in a fun and caring way. Lots of eye contact, interactivity, music and exploration will keep kids interested and probably have them laughing, clapping and singing along.

Phonics 4 Babies was developed in conjunction with clinical advisors and child educators, so different teaching methods are effectively embedded in the entertaining programs.

However, I would have liked the DVDs better if the content was embedded in a cohesive storyline, rather than individual segments focusing on different concepts. Children love stories too, and making a few key concepts part of a fun story would allow time for even more repetition as well as a more comfortable pace.

The Phonics 4 Babies: Baby's First Words DVD is fun and the information is wonderful, although the amount of information is somewhat overwhelming. As Baby's First Words is the first in this new line of educational DVDs for babies, I look forward to seeing future products from Phonics 4 Babies. To find out more about the DVDs and see actual DVD clips, see the Phonics 4 Babies website.

Phonics 4 Babies - DVD Bonus Features

• Bonus Episode: Animal Words and More
• Parent Bonus: Two interviews featuring UCLA Clinical Psychologist