"According to a 2003 study, a third of all babies from 6 months to 2 years old had at least one "Baby Einstein" video."Thankfully I never got into the Baby Einstein video craze. It didn't make sense that seemingly acid trip-inspired videos set to classical music would somehow turn my child brilliant - as an aside, Huck's brilliant for an entirely different set of reasons. And apparently Disney is thinking the same thing or rather they are acting to avoid a class-action lawsuit for deceptive marketing practices. Disney is offering refunds for folks who purchased the videos under the assumption that having infants watch t.v. is a good and educational thing to do. It's not. Says Vicky Rideout, vice president of Kaiser Family Foundation,
"To me, the most important thing is reminding parents that getting down on the floor to play with children is the most educational thing they can do."
Lest you think I stand on any kind of soapbox, Henry has watched t.v. before. He's seen a couple Disney/Pixar films and has even been to the movies. (We only have basic cable and I'm scared to death he'll find and love Barney so we don't usually even turn on the t.v. when he's awake.) He prefers books to the boob tube, for now at least, and I like to encourage that because boys tend to lag behind girls when it comes to reading.
For the full article over at the NY Times, click here.
3 comments:
We've got more Baby Einstein videos than I care to admit. I didn't buy a single one of them.
The funny thing is, while Quinn was a toddler I read a book called, "Einstein Never Used Flashcards." It's a good easy read, if you're interested.
I was astounded by the speed at which Anneke was seduced by Elmo. we watch it for about 15 mins in the morning as we get ready for our day. we talk about what we're watching, etc. I'm aware of the TV recommendations by the American Academy of pediatrics, but all-in-all feel like it's fine. what I'm more concerned about is over all screen time--I feel like I'm modeling too much computer time and need to cut back being on the computer in front of her. in our house I think that's going to be the real peril. that and Bravo.
C - You mentioned that book before so I went out and bought it! I also got the other one you recommended, Playful Parenting. But I've already forgotten much of what I read so I need to go through 'em again and refresh the old memory.
Z - Tell me about it. Henry learned about Elmo after spending a few hours with his cousin. (She has a lot of the Elmo stuffed animals. He didn't even see the show.)
Of course, after seeing Miss Josie rip through the alphabet like she'd been doing it since birth and hearing her mom give props to Sesame Street, we started taping that show. He's seen one so far but more are on the way. I try to save those for days when my parenting skills are lacking in the skill department.
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