I'm a bit guarded about the conclusion of the paper. The primary reason is that the experiment is done on mice, not human. We know that mice physiology is subtly different than that of human; even some tiny details in physiology may dramatically change the mechanism by which the brain works. Given that, beta amyloid are present in both species, and so does Aquaporin 4. So chances are that the mechanism is very similar and the conclusion may stay the same.

I haven't read the papers about the benefits of napping on academic achievements. I bet it will have a significant impact. I will be away for the rest of the week. I will try to read the papers during my trip. Here's my reading list:

http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2013/09/18/1306418110.long
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19840054
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23720415
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23893532
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23802509
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16913948
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22709400

The first three are actually the most interesting ones.

About the exercise program: The planned exercise is only 20 min of moderate to vigorous physical activity, which is great. Clinical trial link: http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01699295

Link to scientific paper: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2748863/

Abstract: "Studies that examine the effects of exercise on children’s intelligence, cognition, or academic achievement were reviewed and results were discussed in light of (a) contemporary cognitive theory development directed toward exercise, (b) recent research demonstrating the salutary effects of exercise on adults’ cognitive functioning, and (c) studies conducted with animals that have linked physical activity to changes in neurological development and behavior. Similar to adults, exercise facilitates children’s executive function (i.e., processes required to select, organize, and properly initiate goal-directed actions). Exercise may prove to be a simple, yet important, method of enhancing those aspects of children’s mental functioning central to cognitive development."

This is more of a meta-analysis (aggregation of several different studies of the same "kind").

A more recent confirmation of this study (also a meta-analysis): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21957711

A recent large-scale trial has commenced to test this intriguing hypothesis (which I think should hold). The trial will complete in 2014. Here it is:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3626787/?report=classic

The experiment design looks solid and very thorough. This is something we need to watch to see the real terms of what exercise can give to a child's academic achievements.

Here's a great video tutorial (~45 min) on how to train long-term memory for your kids (and you) using the pegging system:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/kWoM9aHK6Kk&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/kWoM9aHK6Kk&rel=1</a>

Wiki article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mnemonic_peg_system

Excerpt:
"A Peg system is a technique for memorizing lists. It works by pre-memorizing a list of words that are easy to associate with the numbers they represent (1 to 10, 1-100, 1-1000, etc.). Those objects form the "pegs" of the system. Then in the future, to rapidly memorize a list of arbitrary objects, each one is associated with the appropriate peg. Generally, a peglist only has to be memorized one time, and can then be used over and over every time a list of items needs to be memorized."

And there are varieties of this method (linked in the Wiki). It will help your kids (and you) obtain Encyclopedic Knowledge.

You can retrieve your license key from the website:
http://www.brillkids.com/user/acct-mgmt-purchases.php/Little-Reader-License.php

Congratulations. The kids are amazing. So are the parents.

You're welcome. And certainly, do check out LR products (Mandarin and French).

Another suggestion: You have to be clear on the end goals of wanting your baby to be a polyglot. Mine is to extend my kid's long term memory, presumably by learning a lot of vocab entries, not really about communicating per se (though it's a huge plus). Research backs this up (multilingualism improves long-term and short-term memory, which in turn improves intelligence), but not much of the rest (especially critical thinking, which I really really want to stress). Now, if your end goal is to improve long- and short-term memory, then you should supplement with other approaches, for example:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/radical-teaching/200904/top-10-list-improve-your-childs-memory

You may want to read the following articles:
http://healthland.time.com/2012/01/30/are-you-a-hyperpolyglot-the-secrets-of-language-superlearners/
http://www.davidmansaray.com/polyglot-misdirection

No, I don't think comparison chart is "aggressive"---people do that all the time. It's all natural. The customers have the right to know what there is to it in a product. However, just do it fairly, at the equivalent product line / suite.

The ultimate judge is indeed children, BUT it is the parents who make the purchase. These parents have limited budget; we know that the average of yearly budget per homeschooled kid is $500. Given that, a $150 purchase is A LOT. So, I don't think many parents would entertain the "complementary" / "supplementary" product approach---they would want one product "to rule them all", so to speak. Moreover, they want this big purchase to be a big hit, at least for their kids. Given the many success stories of the older products like YBCR, Preschool Prep, or Hooked on Phonics, you must make SURE that parents would award you their $150 of the available $500 by persuasively arguing that your product is at least on par or even much better than the existing products. So, comparison chart is definitely a good way, not aggression, in my opinion. It's just the issue of language, see if you can word it better. And certainly free 5-10 min snippets on Youtube---nothing could persuade parents and kids more than these snippets. I would rather have the snippets available NOW so that parents and kids could sample them. The snippets simply speak volumes.

Here's some ideas:
1. Another video you want to make is testimony video---success stories, footage showing kids enjoying your package, even interviews with kids/parents or 2-3 y.o. kids demonstrating their ability to read using your product. This bolster your claim that kids love your product and are successful. (No, promo video is rather poor on this, by the way.) Make it one short version and one long version. The short version is perhaps 10 min, the long version is, say, 30 or 40 min. Put both in Youtube, or, if you have the money, buy the late night ad slots for the long one (like YBCR and HOP used to).

2. Free trial promo --- 90-day 100% money back guarantee (less shipping)

3. Free fully functional demo DVDs---maybe give away the first disk of level 1?

4. Discounts, either direct or through Groupon, Zulily, Homeschool Co-Op, etc.

@LittleMamaChamp: Like Korrale4kq, it's in the Letter Blends. Here's evidence that Preschool Prep teaches long and short vowels indirectly:
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/eTqgFj-gWek&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/eTqgFj-gWek&rel=1</a>
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/wmUU55W4psE&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/wmUU55W4psE&rel=1</a>
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/EjOd6uPj_6c&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/EjOd6uPj_6c&rel=1</a>

Controlling R: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/lIGDpEVPzCw&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/lIGDpEVPzCw&rel=1</a>

This is TeachingMyToddler's video showcasing Preschool Prep's book: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/wog816WNrgA&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/wog816WNrgA&rel=1</a>

You see there that there are words that are not taught in the DVD, but they're there.

Well, I trust you that you don't have malicious intent whatsoever, but your advertising has hints of it. So, I would suggest you to clean it up. Since you're relatively a late comer, I think it's important for you to do the homework thoroughly and compare your product with the existing ones. It is your "burden" to prove "superiority" compared to the other products, not the other way around.

I agree with the "why not let your child have ALL - phonics, whole language AND sight words?" way of thinking---I think you should stress that out. AND, you should outline how the combination does not confuse the kids, but could be beneficial. Plus, would more words be helpful instead of a select few to illustrate concepts? And more importantly, will your product engage the kids?

Your link of detailed comparison is certainly very helpful. I really appreciate it. I think you should rather put it into text and pictures instead of lumping them into a huge picture. Plus, put many snippets (5-10 min each) into Youtube that really showcase your product.

I really agree with PokerDad about your target market. You should target new users. For "veterans", you should aim for the "next level". I'm thinking about "read-aloud storybook" DVDs like those scattered over in your DVD package.

How is the structure of your DVD lessons? Do you have reviews built in (instead of having the parent replay the DVD)?

@LittleMamaChamp: Here's my suggestion, rather than picking and choosing certain parts of a product, compare your product as a whole with the other products as a whole (e.g., for Preschool Prep, use this package as the base-line comparison, for Hooked on Phonics, use this one, for YBCR, use this one). Also, instead of tick marks vs X's, you can fill in the numbers of sight words, blends, etc. in competitor products vs. yours. Thirdly, there are categories that I think are more spread out in the other products. For example, long or short vowels are not taught explicitly in Preschool Prep, for example, but there are songs, reading videos, and even books or flashcards in the suite that actually teach long or short vowels. So, marking it with X's to the Preschool Prep's product would be dishonest. Lastly, put in the comparison for the total price for your product vs. each of the competitor's. These things would ensure apple-to-apple comparison and would be very persuasive to savvy parents like most of us in BrillKids.

I agree that the three techniques are independently needed, but there's no research to back that combination up---at least not yet.

Edit: Oh, I'm a dad, by the way.

Since your daughter is just 7 weeks, my suggestion would be focusing on just English. Perhaps later when she's more active (3 months), you can start introducing Spanish, then another 3 months, Mandarin. You still have plenty of time.

My daughter speaks English relatively well at this point (2 yr 3.5 mo, non grammatical, somewhat disjointed, but adults typically understand about 80% what she says). She knows some words in Indonesian (native language of my wife and I), Mandarin (a language that I, but not my wife, can speak), and a few words in Spanish. For her, I focus on sentence building of the first language (English) first, while developing vocabulary lists for the other. At this point, she shows preference in English, though I try hard to get her learn the other languages. I started the foreign language learning at 10 mo. I found that flashcards aren't very effective for her on the second languages, which is strange. I think daily exposure is the most important part, so her mastery status is predictably: English > Indonesian > Mandarin > Spanish. As far as the programs, I use Little Pim and Dino Lingo.

Edit: I should add: We teach her in English and Indonesian from the get go. We speak to her in both languages. Of course, in day care, she's exposed to English more than Indonesian. Then, we threw in Spanish at about 10 mo. I spoke to her in Mandarin here and there since 3 mo, but I started getting her to learn it at around 18 mo, I think?

This comparison chart is somewhat dishonest. For example, it compares itself with "Meet the Sight Words" of the Preschool Prep, but not the entire package (which contains more than 30 consonant blends, and if you count the books and flashcards that are sold separately, more than 250 sentences, phrases, etc.). To me, this is a huge red flag.

The phrase "effectively combine" is somewhat iffy because although each of the research has hints of effectiveness, but there is no research in combining all the three approaches (except perhaps some smattering results in phonics + sight words). Can the manufacturer actually back the claims up?

My kid watches / watched:

Reading Bear
Starfall
Your Baby Can Read **
Your Child Can Read *
Your Baby Can Discover *
Your Child Can Discover *
Sparkabilities *
Little Pim Chinese *
Little Pim Spanish *
Little Pim French
Sesame Street *
Fun Fun Elmo
Alphablocks (from Youtube) *
Curious George (from Youtube) *
Wink to Learn Chinese (doesn't seem to like)
Wink to Learn French (doesn't seem to like)
SuperWhy (Youtube / Amazon Prime)*
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (Youtube / Amazon Prime)*
Baby Einstein **
Brainy Baby **
Jack Big Music Show *
Leapfrog videos
Pocoyo (Youtube) *
Pocoyo Mandarin (Youtube) *
Veggietales (Youtube / Amazon Prime)
Tu Bebe Puede Leer
Signing Time / Baby Signing Time
Various Bible Animation (Youtube / Amazon Prime) *
Sid the Science Kid (doesn't seem to like)
Peter Weatherall videos (doesn't seem to like)

* often
** used to, but not now

I plan to introduce her to Mathtacular and Magic Schoolbus.

Sorry if I sound like a broken record, but for flu, please do vaccinate. It is shown to be effective at boosting their immune levels, and NOT weaken them.
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/children.htm
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/infantcare.htm

Umm... would this help?
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/gkI3e0P3S5E&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/gkI3e0P3S5E&rel=1</a>