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    Frequently Asked Questions: This optional section addresses the most common questions that interested parents and educators have when looking for the information on this page.
    • Is teaching reading with lots of pictures effective?
      • No. While pictures are OK for introducing the meaning of words and making early reading material more enjoyable, pictures do not help with the process of learning to read fluently. The principal process behind fluent reading is orthographic mapping, which depends on phonemic awareness and letter-sound knowledge (phonics). Phonemic awareness is the cognitive ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words. This is an entirely auditory process that does not benefit from pictures. In fact, pictures can be a distraction that interferes with learning to read.
    • Why does Pictures Are For Babies not use pictures to teach reading and writing?
      • Pictures Are For Babies removes all pictures and visual distractions from the core process of learning to read to align with the scientific consensus on how fluent reading is acquired. The main cognitive process behind fluent reading is completely auditory and does not benefit from pictures.
    • Why does Picture Are For Babies remove games and gamification tactics?
      • Pictures Are For Babies is built on top of a deliberate practice engine that creates a stream of lessons optimized for each student's current abilities. This approach leads to flow, a state of deep focus and immersion that is naturally motivating and highly conducive to learning. This state is far superior to the shallow motivation and engagement produced by gamification tactics.
    • What is the best software to learn reading and writing for older children, adolescents, and adults?
      • The best software for older learners should be appropriate for all ages, not rely on pictures or distractions intended for young children, and provide a complete path to advanced literacy. Pictures Are For Babies meets all these criteria. It is designed to support all learners, regardless of age, who are struggling with literacy or who want to master it at the highest levels.

    This literacy program is called Pictures Are For Babies for a reason: it does not use pictures to teach reading and writing, and eliminates all visual supports and gamification tactics. The reason is that most literacy programs today are built on shaky pedagogy, dressed up as games, or both. The research base behind Pictures Are For Babies doesn’t support these strategies. In fact, it clearly debunks them.

    Literacy is not a visual trick, a game, or a cartoon. It is a serious, learnable skill worth focused effort. What students need is a structured, rigorous education that guarantees mastery while respecting their time, effort, and intelligence. Below are the main reasons why Pictures Are For Babies goes against the grain and why this decision results in more effective literacy instruction.

    Orthographic Mapping🔗

    Orthographic mapping is the process by which previously unfamiliar words become stored in long-term memory for instant and effortless retrieval. It has been extensively researched that this process depends on phonemic awareness, the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words, and letter-sound knowledge, explicit knowledge of the relationships between the letters and sounds of words. This second step is what is commonly called phonics.

    Developing phonemic awareness is an entirely auditory process. No other pathway to fluent reading has ever been shown to exist. This explains why the main cause of reading difficulties is deficits in this auditory skill. Therefore, the first reason for banning pictures is to align completely with the evidence and to support the process of orthographic mapping from the start.

    Deliberate Practice🔗

    Many educational programs use gamification tactics to increase motivation and engagement in similar ways to how social media and video games do. They argue that hijacking motivation will lead to better learning outcomes. In reality, most of these tactics are designed to keep users hooked for as long as possible.

    Pictures Are For Babies recognizes that students need to put in focused, effortful practice to master literacy, and that this type of practice is not inherently enjoyable. However, instead of helping them avoid this reality through gamification, the practice engine is design to create a stream of lessons that are optimized to be at the edge of the student's current abilities. The result is flow, a state of deep focus and immersion that is naturally motivating and highly conductive to learning, a state superior to the shallow motivation and engagement produced by gamification tactics.

    Adult Literacy🔗

    Unlike the majority of literacy programs, Pictures Are For Babies is designed from the beginning to support the needs of older children, adolescents, and adults in a dignified manner. It goes far beyond typical literacy programs, taking learners all the way to reading and writing at an advanced level. It is designed to support all adults who are struggling with basic literacy or who want to master it at the highest levels. To meet this goal, the program must be appropriate for all ages, which is another reason why pictures and games are not used.