The question then is, not if babies are or are not memorizing the words, but how does this lead to real reading, because it does lead to actual reading and the ability to decode words phonetically.  

Babies and young children are first introduced to language in its whole form, also called the whole word method. This differs from phonics in that the word are not broken apart phonetically and then blended back together. Whole words are shown and learned in their entirety.  When young children are immersed in reading in this way a wonderful phenomenon takes place.  They build a very solid foundation in understanding how letters work together to make up the words they are reading.  The first 3 to 5 years are magical years for learning because much of the wiring, or programming of the brain, occurs during this period of development.   This is the main reason that many young children, including babies, are able to effortlessly absorb language.  In the same way that  babies who are exposed to several languages will learn to speak them flawlessly, babies that are exposed to reading learn to read with the same level of ease.

This does not mean that a baby that has memorized hundreds of words cannot read.  There comes a point, which differs for each child, in which they crossover from just parroting the words they have been shown to being able to decipher new words using phonics that they were never formally taught.  It is quite incredible when this happens.

Interestingly enough, we all read words we are familiar with using memorization.  It is only when we come across words we are unfamiliar with that we use phonics to decode these words.  Does this mean we are not really reading?  I will let you answer that one.

I find that this is such a common dispute between those that teach their babies to read and those that are opposed to teaching babies to read.  They will claim that the child has only memorized words and therefore cannot really read.

I taught my son to sight read hundreds, if not thousands of words before he was 3 years old.  I am not opposed to phonics and think a knowledge of phonics is necessary to be a good reader that can decode large, unfamiliar words.  I began a phonics program with him when he turned 3 so we could solidify his understanding of phonics.  The funny thing was, he hated it.  I tried to bribe him to do the program and the workbook and after a short while I ended up just turning to the last page of the workbook which contained the following paragraph:

My little 3 year old was able to read the paragraph perfectly, with no trouble.  It was followed by 5 comprehension questions to make sure they understand what they read.  He also answered those questions right.  I realized that I was doing this for me, not for my boy.  He had learned phonics indirectly while learning to read whole words and had no need to review and relearn what he already knew, which is why he put up such a fight when I tried to follow the program.

I have 6 children and I have taught them all to read at early ages.  The first 4 learned to read phonetically and the last 2 have learned to read beginning in infancy with sight reading.  My overall experience has been that the phonics taught the older children to read and read well, but it was not nearly as easy as teaching the younger children with a combination of first sight reading and then adding some phonics.  When teaching children to read, we are obligated to make it fun for them so they will love to read throughout their lifetimes.

We have developed the MonkiSee Baby Reading Program to make learning to read an easy and enjoyable experience for babies and young children.  Babies can begin learning to read as early as 3 months old.  The program has been used successfully with children up through age 4.  Visit www.monkisee.com to learn more and view samples of the dvds, flash cards and books.