For the last several days, Janet had been anxious about her upcoming parent-teacher conference with Sam, 18-month-old Abby's father. Sam had recently brought in alphabet flash cards because he wants Abby to learn to read. Janet completely understood Sam's desire to support his daughter's early language skills, but she was not comfortable with the method or the timing. Some families, wanting what is best for their children, believe that being able to read as early as possible is the best predictor of academic success later. After all, there is a constant bombardment of product advertisements promising that "any" child "any" age can become the next Einstein if only the right combination of expensive toys and DVDs are purchased. It's easy to get caught up in the promises that new, better products will make smarter children. No wonder Janet and Sam have different ideas about what will work best! In this article, the author demonstrates how Janet helped Sam understand that before Abby can read, she needs to have the strong foundational skills that come before letter recognition. The article also offers tips on how a teacher can share practices with families. (Contains 1 online resource.)