Are flashcards really good and effective? I just bought a whole set of them and can't wait to start on it.

Honestly most of these flashcards, reading DVDs may not exactly be as effective as we think it is to teach reading to kids. Some will say in order to teach kids to read we need to start by teaching phonics first. Well I for one thing did not receive proper phonics teaching during my time and I come from a mandarin speaking family. However my mom loves reading and she will often bring me to the library or buy me books to read both Chinese and English ones. And somehow I pick up reading and English well that my grades for the subject has been good since young. I will say exposing them to different types of reading sources is not a bad idea.what is important is to give them an environment to nurture their curiosity to learn and their willingness to read. If my kid prefers flashcards to story books so be it. There is really nothing wrong with exposing them to flashcards isn't it? Not like there is something damaging to the brains. But of course you should not rely on flashcards alone to teach you kids but rather use it as one of the methods. My niece loves flashcards since she was a baby and she will squeal in delight when I take flashcards out. She sees it as a toy and eventually it also cultivated her interest to pick up reading. Just my two cents worth, hope this helps