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There is a lot of buzz right now in the news about the Baby Einstein Company and their refund policy. The Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood has gone after Disney, since they are the biggest distributor of these so called educational videos. I am sure they think they have won a great victory by having Disney publicly offer a refund to customers who bought their products over the last 5 years. The problem is, as I see it, that parents are still going to let their little ones watch television. Not all parents, but many parents will continue to turn to the boob tube in desperate need of soothing a fussy child, taking a shower, throwing a meal together or just for a few minutes of personal sanity away from a fussy child. So now what? Do they decide against turing on videos that claim to have some educational merit? If so, what will they choose? I certainly hope not cartoon network. If Baby Einstein is dumbing kids down, how much more would regular television?
I have many of the Baby Einstein DVD's. My mother bought them for me when my daughter was 2 years old. She was too old for them at the time, so we rarely viewed them. She was completely sold by the name alone. I think the Baby Einstein videos are so well done. I don't think they are extremely educational. They are not going to make your child have a higher IQ. They may teach your baby some colors and shapes and they will learn about animals. They don't have that much dialogue so their vocabularies will not explode as a result of watching them. BUT, if you want to keep your baby out of harm's way while you tend to something that must be done, and you want your child to be happy and entertained, you will most likely find these videos to be useful.
My son loved Baby Einstein. He especially loved Baby Mozart. It was worth the investment if for no other reason than when he would cry uncontrollably and I couldn't comfort him, putting on Baby Mozart would calm him down. One night when he was 6 months old he started crying. Nothing I did consoled him. I fed him and rocked him and sang to him and took him for a walk outside. He would not stop crying. I turned on Baby Mozart and he immediately stopped crying and let me comfort and soothe him. That has to be worth something.
Don't get me wrong, if parents really expected their child to become smarter from watching Baby Einstein and they feel mislead, the refund is a good thing. Consumers do need to be protected. My fear is that the Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood may have won this battle but babies and parents will suffer and lose the war. It is noble to think that you can convince parents to say no to television, but the fact is television is here to stay. Certain parents with strong convictions will not allow their babies and children to watch television, but most homes in America have a television and it is on for many hours a day. Television can be a great aid to parents when they opt for quality video viewing for their little ones. There are wonderful products available such as Signing Time, Brainy Baby, Little Pim, Your Baby Can Read and Monki See. The question is, has the Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood now tainted parents into thinking it is better to watch regular television than to select these wonderful programs that can enrich their children's lives? Only time will tell.
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