The Baby Einstein Controversy

Reported By FreshDad
August 8, 2007

I woke up this morning to countless negative reports on the Baby Einstein Video's.

Some of the headlines I read

1. Parents tricked by baby Einstein videos
2. Baby Einstein Turns Kids into Baby Homer Simpson.
3. Baby Einstein Harmful
4. Want a baby Einstein? Ditch the Educational Dvd'd
5. Baby videos not creating any Geniuses
   
   As of 12:15 this afternoon Google had over 77 news articles posted today.
   Is it me or does the media think all parents are just stupid.
   
   Is it me or does a survey of 1,000 parents warrant this type of attention. Come on people. This is absurd. My Father, the grandfather to my twin girls called me first thing this morning to notify this as if the country was on red alert.
   
   I would like to see this study repeated with many more kids before we can all agree that perhaps they may be ineffective. But with this being said, does any loving parent think for a second that their children will turn into a prodigy if they buy these dvd's. I bought these videos through recommendation from my friends and families whose kids enjoyed over the years and quite franley playing these videos are almost like the 3rd hand mommy needed for 30 minutes a day. My kids are now 12 weeks old and they really enjoy the colors and the images on the videos. Watching them smile at this young age is all I need to see. It's harmless and all these negative things coming out is really just negative marketing.
   
   So in a survey of 1,000 parents, University of Washington Pediatricians found that "for every hour a day that babies 8 to 16 months old were shown such popular series as 'Brainy Baby' or 'Baby Einstein,' they knew six to eight fewer words than other children." Reading to children and telling them stories appeared far more beneficial than the videos, "which are designed to engage a baby's attention, hop from scene to scene with minimal dialogue and include mesmerizing images, like a lava lamp."
   
   Its almost as if the study suggests that parents who show these videos do not read to their kids. I would take this study and trash it. All of us, as loving parents only want the best for our children. For me, it does mean continuing the routine with 30 minutes of Einstein videos every morning, some tummy time, a little play time on the mat, and later in the evening after the bath, reading of their favorite books. I must know at least 100 children from friends and family who watched these videos over the years and all of them do not show any signs that their development is any less than anyone Else's.
   
   ( the following is a joke )
   
   What's Next, a report that Babies that have a mobile on their crib will develop cross eyes?
   
   Thanks