Baby Einstein Videos? Try Baby Dumbstein

[Beerina]

Baby Einstein Videos: Endumbify Your Baby Now! (http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1650352,00.html?cnn=yes)


Of course, "it's obvioius" stuff like this would help your baby be smarter.

The earlier article (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1147180,00.html?iid=sphere-inline-bottom) mentions the snake oil salesman's pal: everybody says it's true!

In a 2004 Kaiser Family Foundation study, more than half of the parents surveyed said that educational videos and toys are "very important to children's intellectual development."

Ironically, these parents were correct, though for, sadly, the wrong reason.



Oh, and by the way, "quality time" is overrated with respect to "quantity time", as it turns out, too.

[galnoir]

That's why my children only watch Spongebob.

Actually, I'm watching it with them, not plopping them down in front of it to go do laundry. There's some quality time for ya!

[Wowbagger]

That's why my children only watch Spongebob.

Actually, I'm watching it with them, not plopping them down in front of it to go do laundry. There's some quality time for ya!

SpongeBob is, in fact, very educational!

You learn the names of lots of undersea critters, you learn that sponges reproduce by budding, that self-confidence is good, annoying the neighbors is bad, imagination is f-u-n, karate takes discipline, get-rich-quick schemes don't pay off, driving boats is difficult and dangerous for some people, and that starfish are utterly brainless!

The art class episode (one of my favorites) highlights that natural art talent can get ruined by over-teaching.

Of course, it does get some stuff wrong, too: Worms don't metamorphose into butterflies, caterpillars do; SpongeBob's pants are rectangular, not square; and natural sponges are very rarely (if ever) rectangular. And, that's why it is important to watch it with your children! :D

[Miss Anthrope]

I just don't understand why it's so difficult to grasp that a baby needs to be held, spoken to, read to, and interacted with in order to learn! Gadgets and all this type of thing are completely unnecessary!

This whole thing is epitomized by something I saw once. I was in a parking lot that had a Charbucks with a drive through. As I was walking into another store, I saw a mom with one of those DVD players made for vehicles, on her cel phone and picking up her ten syllable $6 drink. Baby Einstein was playing on the DVD player. Nice to know you can just strap the kid in, buy your liquid yuppie and make sure that your phone conversation isn't interrupted by such trivial things as some of your child's first words.

It's so true...they grow up too fast. Kids should be engaged and enjoyed, not distracted, pacified and ignored. I really believe that "but it's educational" is simply a rationalization to use the TV as a babysitter. Not in every case, but in the bulk of them.

[Katana]

I just don't understand why it's so difficult to grasp that a baby needs to be held, spoken to, read to, and interacted with in order to learn! Gadgets and all this type of thing are completely unnecessary!

This whole thing is epitomized by something I saw once. I was in a parking lot that had a Charbucks with a drive through. As I was walking into another store, I saw a mom with one of those DVD players made for vehicles, on her cel phone and picking up her ten syllable $6 drink. Baby Einstein was playing on the DVD player. Nice to know you can just strap the kid in, buy your liquid yuppie and make sure that your phone conversation isn't interrupted by such trivial things as some of your child's first words.

It's so true...they grow up too fast. Kids should be engaged and enjoyed, not distracted, pacified and ignored. I really believe that "but it's educational" is simply a rationalization to use the TV as a babysitter. Not in every case, but in the bulk of them.


Spot on, Miss A.

Calling it "Baby Einstein" was a brilliant marketing move - that much, I'll give them. Too bad some parents aren't as smart.

[Miss Anthrope]

Spot on, Miss A.

Calling it "Baby Einstein" was a brilliant marketing move - that much, I'll give them. Too bad some parents aren't as smart.

It was brilliant, and it's the only thing brilliant about it.

A couple of weeks ago I was shocked that my pediatrician was looking at all the bruises on my three year old son's legs and said "Oh, thank god!"

I gave her a puzzled look and she said "I don't see a lot of normal, healthy boys these days. This tan, these bruises, all signs he plays outside a lot. I'll bet you don't watch a lot of TV. And I'm glad I don't need to have 'the talk' AGAIN".

That's really disturbing to me. REALLY disturbing. Living in a beautiful, tree filled area with tons of parks and activities, and my little guy is unusual?

[aries]

As I teacher I know that you just can't sit down toddlers and students in front of tv, showing them videos (or dvds) all day and hope the learning sink in. Learning has to processed by the brain. And to do this, parents need to talk about what the toddlers just saw in tv, or on the videos (or dvds).

And yes, these days, it seems that parents want to supervize their kids more than anything else, so that's why they park them in front of the tv or the computer instead of letting them play outside from sunup till the cows come here. (like we did when we were young ;) ).

And it doesn't help either that certain -ahem- experts tells us the sun's ray are dangerous, so we need to be inside as much as possible. Even when we crave and need the Vitamin D for our (lightskinned) bodies...

[rjh01]

To add to the last post. If you have natural dark skin then your skin does not make as much Vitamin D, so you need even more sun compared with a light skinned person.

[galnoir]

School districts buy into this garbage, also, because it is presented with lots of "scientific" data about how computer programs bring up test scores. My school--I teach first grade--has 2 programs for the students and I am somehow supposed to get each student through a 20-minute session during class time.

And of course for my lower-performing students--according to their test scores of course!--we have extra computer "intervention." Humans need not apply.

This is another reason why we have only one recess a day.

[greymatters]

I went into a bookstore with a DVD section recently, and they had a "featured DVD" section. This section always has DVDs that people are talking about.

I was amused to see several "Baby Einstein" videos in there, considering exactly WHAT is being said about them these days.

[Miss Anthrope]

More news, apparently Disney wasn't too happy about it:

SEATTLE (AP) - University of Washington President Mark Emmert on Thursday rejected a request by the CEO of the Walt Disney Co. to retract a news release about a university study that concluded DVDs targeted to babies could hinder language development.

Linkage (http://www.komotv.com/news/local/9199417.html)

[vIQleS]

And it doesn't help either that certain -ahem- experts tells us the sun's ray are dangerous, so we need to be inside as much as possible. Even when we crave and need the Vitamin D for our (lightskinned) bodies...

To be fair - the experts don't tell you to stay inside, they tell you to wear a hat and sunscreen...

[LostAngeles]

It was brilliant, and it's the only thing brilliant about it.

A couple of weeks ago I was shocked that my pediatrician was looking at all the bruises on my three year old son's legs and said "Oh, thank god!"

I gave her a puzzled look and she said "I don't see a lot of normal, healthy boys these days. This tan, these bruises, all signs he plays outside a lot. I'll bet you don't watch a lot of TV. And I'm glad I don't need to have 'the talk' AGAIN".

That's really disturbing to me. REALLY disturbing. Living in a beautiful, tree filled area with tons of parks and activities, and my little guy is unusual?

Working in Downtown Los Angeles where the only nearby park is tiny and filled with steep little hills and a picnic table so the kids can't play soccer...

...really, those folks have no idea how good they have it...

NONE

[Corsair 115]

And yes, these days, it seems that parents want to supervize their kids more than anything else, so that's why they park them in front of the tv or the computer instead of letting them play outside from sunup till the cows come here. (like we did when we were young ;) ).While I agree, in fairness things are a bit different than was the case a few decades back.

When I was nine or ten years old, I'd just jump on my bike and go off with my friends — there was none of the kind of concerns you see today with child abductions and the like. We had a lot of freedom to come and go as we pleased back then. I remember the main way parents let their kids know it was time to come home was by stepping out onto their front porch and yelling, "[insert name of child]! Time for dinner!"

[Gord_in_Toronto]

While I agree, in fairness things are a bit different than was the case a few decades back.

When I was nine or ten years old, I'd just jump on my bike and go off with my friends — there was none of the kind of concerns you see today with child abductions and the like. We had a lot of freedom to come and go as we pleased back then. I remember the main way parents let their kids know it was time to come home was by stepping out onto their front porch and yelling, "[insert name of child]! Time for dinner!"

And the really, really sad thing is that there are no more "stranger" abductions than there were in the recent past. It's the public's perception that there has been a huge increase and that this is a real problem. I will not get into the argument as to whether our parents were wrong! :(

[pgwenthold]

OTOH, perhaps the reason there are only "as many abductions as there were before" is because parents are much more cautious than they used to be?

Perhaps if parents were as callous as they used to be, there would be a lot more?

[Miss Anthrope]

OTOH, perhaps the reason there are only "as many abductions as there were before" is because parents are much more cautious than they used to be?

Perhaps if parents were as callous as they used to be, there would be a lot more?

I don't think parents were callous then. I think it has to do with the modern day media and the number of television viewing hours per day.

Now parents are whipped up into hysteria because on all of their many channels, there is non-stop coverage of every child abduction.

I think more safety awareness is a good thing, but, I don't think the child abduction rate is impacted by "callous" versus not callous parents. The perception of safety is the difference. Parents "back in the day" were not bombarded by the horrors of every terrible, tragic thing that happened to a child anywhere in the entire world.

I would say that child abductions over divorce may be more on the increase in present day.

[Gord_in_Toronto]

OTOH, perhaps the reason there are only "as many abductions as there were before" is because parents are much more cautious than they used to be?

Perhaps if parents were as callous as they used to be, there would be a lot more?

As Miss Anthrope says, I don't think my parents were callous. I don't think that I am (particulary) callous either. Both my kids either walked or biked to school in the late 70s and early 80s. Then there were a crowd of children doing it. Now the paranoia has set in, the crowd with its intrinsic safety has gone.

[Niobe]

I really believe that "but it's educational" is simply a rationalization to use the TV as a babysitter. Not in every case, but in the bulk of them.
Well at least they get to feel superior.

I read an article about parents that do "play by play coaching". Sure I assist my 2 year old on the playground either with pointers or a leg up, but these are parents that do that with 8 year olds.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/pto-20041112-000010.html

[Croesus 47]

Being a new father (my little girl just turned 1), we are just learning about everything. I had read the article about Baby Einstein being "bad" for children my daughter's age, but I had also read some criticism of the U of W study. Personally, we only use the classical music videos, once per day, when we're trying to eat in the brief time between our work shifts. And it's not "plop her down in front of the TV by herself" either... we watch the videos and engage her with what we see and to what she reacts. We also spend more time reading to her & playing with her than she does in front of the video. It is also the ONLY television she watches (apart from in-between when the video stops and when we shut the TV off, which amounts to about 5-10 minutes of Spongebob).

[Tokenconservative]

That's why my children only watch Spongebob.

Actually, I'm watching it with them, not plopping them down in front of it to go do laundry. There's some quality time for ya!


My kids are a little older now (tho we were once huge fans of the sponge). We watch South Park together.

Tokie

[Tokenconservative]

I just don't understand why it's so difficult to grasp that a baby needs to be held, spoken to, read to, and interacted with in order to learn! Gadgets and all this type of thing are completely unnecessary!

This whole thing is epitomized by something I saw once. I was in a parking lot that had a Charbucks with a drive through. As I was walking into another store, I saw a mom with one of those DVD players made for vehicles, on her cel phone and picking up her ten syllable $6 drink. Baby Einstein was playing on the DVD player. Nice to know you can just strap the kid in, buy your liquid yuppie and make sure that your phone conversation isn't interrupted by such trivial things as some of your child's first words.

It's so true...they grow up too fast. Kids should be engaged and enjoyed, not distracted, pacified and ignored. I really believe that "but it's educational" is simply a rationalization to use the TV as a babysitter. Not in every case, but in the bulk of them.


LOL!

Knew a guy once who was just enamoured of his self-discovery that he could stick his expensive laptop into the pouch in the back of the seat and let his still-in-carseat-aged daughter watch movies on it while they drove places.

I remember my kids at that age in the car...try and get me to shut up about what signs spell, what color THAT car is, what they do in THAT building, why streets are black here, but gray over here, look at the sunset, kids!! etc, etc, etc. Today, my kids have vocabularies that floor most adults, and while the older one likes to read while we drive places the younger one is just like the old man..."look at that, Dad!"

The guy told me this about his brilliant plan for his kids and I thought "here's a guy who is either completely clueless or doesn't love his kids."

Tokie

[Tokenconservative]

It was brilliant, and it's the only thing brilliant about it.

A couple of weeks ago I was shocked that my pediatrician was looking at all the bruises on my three year old son's legs and said "Oh, thank god!"

I gave her a puzzled look and she said "I don't see a lot of normal, healthy boys these days. This tan, these bruises, all signs he plays outside a lot. I'll bet you don't watch a lot of TV. And I'm glad I don't need to have 'the talk' AGAIN".

That's really disturbing to me. REALLY disturbing. Living in a beautiful, tree filled area with tons of parks and activities, and my little guy is unusual?

Yes, he is unusual...as are you. And that's not new. My kids are in high school now, and I was always really shocked when they were little and we'd be out in a park or on the greenbelt (I was a stay at home dad for a while) digging in the dirt, wading in a creek, catching bugs, playing in the playground, running across the grass, pick-nicking or just looking at the clouds, that all these huge, nice, well-kept (maybe that's why) parks and greenbelts and other area are so underused. Of course, try to go to the same park some afternoons in the fall...to find it uttlerly occupied with Pop Warner football clubs...

Oh well, at least they are outside. For an hour or two a week.

My kids today: one loves the outdoors and all things adventurous. The other is a "ginger kid" and cooks like an ant under a magnifying lens in the sun, but every year she sucks it up and goes "treasure hunting" with the old man in the desert anyway, and we have a great time.

Tokie

[seanmcg]

LOL!

Knew a guy once who was just enamoured of his self-discovery that he could stick his expensive laptop into the pouch in the back of the seat and let his still-in-carseat-aged daughter watch movies on it while they drove places.


That reminds me of the recent car advertisement (I don't recall which brand) that featured the following sequence:
1.) Kids being rowdy (in a cafeteria, for example)
2.) Adult looking frustrated
3.) Adult turns on TV and pops in movie
4.) Kids turn into silent zombies staring at screen

The intent of the commercial was to sell their new mini-van that featured a built-in DVD player. Which means that they thought the instant zombie-fication of the children was a good thing. I was completely creeped out by this commercial, and it has stuck with me for months.

[Tokenconservative]

That reminds me of the recent car advertisement (I don't recall which brand) that featured the following sequence:
1.) Kids being rowdy (in a cafeteria, for example)
2.) Adult looking frustrated
3.) Adult turns on TV and pops in movie
4.) Kids turn into silent zombies staring at screen

The intent of the commercial was to sell their new mini-van that featured a built-in DVD player. Which means that they thought the instant zombie-fication of the children was a good thing. I was completely creeped out by this commercial, and it has stuck with me for months.

One of the things I most miss now that my kids have "growed up" is the joyful noise this place used to ring with.

When I used to travel, and still when I go out to eat or such, and see young parents apologizing left and right for their kids making noise I would tell them..."don't worry about it. Kids are supposed to make noise, and anyone who doesn't like it should move to a different planet."

This is one of the reasons I love sub teaching middle school (12-14 yrs old) kids...most people think I am a nut, but at that age they are such...KIDS! So noisy and full of life and the excitement of being alive.

Tokie

[technoextreme]

It was brilliant, and it's the only thing brilliant about it.

A couple of weeks ago I was shocked that my pediatrician was looking at all the bruises on my three year old son's legs and said "Oh, thank god!"

I gave her a puzzled look and she said "I don't see a lot of normal, healthy boys these days. This tan, these bruises, all signs he plays outside a lot. I'll bet you don't watch a lot of TV. And I'm glad I don't need to have 'the talk' AGAIN".

That's really disturbing to me. REALLY disturbing. Living in a beautiful, tree filled area with tons of parks and activities, and my little guy is unusual?
Not really. Sometimes it's just the person. At that age I'd rather have read a book than play. It all depends on the person on what is normal and what isn't. Then again I also crawled upside down.
And the really, really sad thing is that there are no more "stranger" abductions than there were in the recent past. It's the public's perception that there has been a huge increase and that this is a real problem. I will not get into the argument as to whether our parents were wrong!
Well part of the problem is that certain areas change wildly to the point where there are numerous reasons not to let your kid ride their bicycle to school. Long Island is a perfect example. Where my dad probably walked to school is now a major highway where only an idiot would let their child walk on. I would have been ran over multiple times if I walked to school.

[Ben Tilly]

It was brilliant, and it's the only thing brilliant about it.

A couple of weeks ago I was shocked that my pediatrician was looking at all the bruises on my three year old son's legs and said "Oh, thank god!"

I gave her a puzzled look and she said "I don't see a lot of normal, healthy boys these days. This tan, these bruises, all signs he plays outside a lot. I'll bet you don't watch a lot of TV. And I'm glad I don't need to have 'the talk' AGAIN".

That's really disturbing to me. REALLY disturbing. Living in a beautiful, tree filled area with tons of parks and activities, and my little guy is unusual?

Thank you for that.

You've just made me much happier about the fact that my son (almost three) has constant bruises, and managed to skin his knees this week. And no, we don't watch TV.

I'll also note that unofficial activities are as fun as the official ones. Chasing crickets on the porch. Collecting snails. Looking at potato bugs. Making friends with neighbourhood cats. Waiting for the streetsweeper. Pretending a tricycle is a motorcycle. Etc. Etc. Etc.

Cheers,
Ben

[Tokenconservative]

School districts buy into this garbage, also, because it is presented with lots of "scientific" data about how computer programs bring up test scores. My school--I teach first grade--has 2 programs for the students and I am somehow supposed to get each student through a 20-minute session during class time.

And of course for my lower-performing students--according to their test scores of course!--we have extra computer "intervention." Humans need not apply.

This is another reason why we have only one recess a day.

What's really bad about this is the war against boyhood, carried out in most schools, where being a normal, (hyper)active boy is looked at as pathological.

Most schools here have taken away the day's second recess. Doesn't bother most girls, but it drives younger boys crazy.

Making them into girls in phys ed. is not a good idea, either.

And of course, for those who still insist on being boys, today we have a host of drugs like Ritalin to stuff down their active little gullets.

Tokie

[gnome]

What's really bad about this is the war against boyhood, carried out in most schools, where being a normal, (hyper)active boy is looked at as pathological.

Most schools here have taken away the day's second recess. Doesn't bother most girls, but it drives younger boys crazy.

Making them into girls in phys ed. is not a good idea, either.

And of course, for those who still insist on being boys, today we have a host of drugs like Ritalin to stuff down their active little gullets.

Tokie

I always have to chirp up when I hear this expressed.

Have you witnessed the difference between a normal active child and one that is diagnosed with ADHD and prescribed medication? Are you aware of the distinctions psychiatrists make between these groups?

If you are not aware, I would not be so quick to suppose that Ritalin is being "stuffed down the gullets" of children because the parents can't handle "ordinary" hyperactivity.

Please, be informed first.

[DRBUZZ0]

I think the parents miss is that the videos are called "Baby Einstein"

Einstein was considered rather.... ungifted... as a child. He took a damn long time to learn to talk and he did very poorly in early school. He lagged in language and communications skills and failed math.

It wasn't until he was well into his teens that he began to show any special talents at all and even after he had shown his mathematical brilliance and penned the Theory of relativity, he was rather lacking in certain areas. Apparently he took longer than normal to learn English, after moving to the US. He was very absent minded and got lost in areas where he lived. Even forgot things like his house number or to bring his wallet with him when going out...

Perhaps the "Baby Einstein" videos are designed to focus less on the "Brilliant Theoretical Physicist and Mathematical Genius" aspect of Einstein and more on the "Short attention span, forgetful and socially awkward" aspects?

Or perhaps by "Baby Einstein" they mean to imply "This video will make your kid like the young Einstein who was apparently much slower than his peers and would not show any great talents for years to come"

[BPScooter]

Tokie, Gnome, I can see trouble a-brewin' here. War on boys has its support, ADHD fraud has its support. The quality of the support is indeed up to the informed person to read up on. Is Big Pharma real? Read Dick Morris' latest book. Is society so sick that it simultaneously shortchanges girls, boys, and minorities? Who's left? Androgynous whites, I guess. Marilyn Manson shall inherit the earth. It does matter which country you're talking about, and in what era, and other contextual matters.

So there are strong emotions and arguments for many of these things. As it should be. We're talking about raising the generation that will eventually take all my money and property and use it to their own ends. Little video-gaming illiterates. ;-)

[Ben Tilly]

I think the parents miss is that the videos are called "Baby Einstein"

Einstein was considered rather.... ungifted... as a child. He took a damn long time to learn to talk and he did very poorly in early school. He lagged in language and communications skills and failed math.

Can we please put this persistent myth to rest?

While it is indeed true that Einstein was late to talk, he did well in school from the start. See http://www.abc.net.au/science/k2/moments/s1115185.htm for more, including how the myth got started.


Cheers,
Ben

[DRBUZZ0]

Can we please put this persistent myth to rest?

While it is indeed true that Einstein was late to talk, he did well in school from the start. See http://www.abc.net.au/science/k2/moments/s1115185.htm for more, including how the myth got started.


Cheers,
Ben

Alright sorry, but actually I do know for a fact that he was rather absent minded/forgetful/easily distracted in adulthood. And I did double-check that before responding.

[gnome]

Tokie, Gnome, I can see trouble a-brewin' here. War on boys has its support, ADHD fraud has its support. The quality of the support is indeed up to the informed person to read up on. Is Big Pharma real? Read Dick Morris' latest book. Is society so sick that it simultaneously shortchanges girls, boys, and minorities? Who's left? Androgynous whites, I guess. Marilyn Manson shall inherit the earth. It does matter which country you're talking about, and in what era, and other contextual matters.

So there are strong emotions and arguments for many of these things. As it should be. We're talking about raising the generation that will eventually take all my money and property and use it to their own ends. Little video-gaming illiterates. ;-)

Agreed. I don't reject all criticism of ADHD diagnoses--but I bristle if they aren't aware of how psychiatrists try to tell the cases apart. If they know how and disagree, that's another story.

[DRBUZZ0]

Looking back on my childhood, I was always a fan of television, and I suppose I watched a somewhat decent amount of TV, but somewhat limited compared to what kids seem to watch now.

When I was a real little kid we didn't have many channels. I remember watching Sesemy Street Mr Rogers a decent amount, when I was real little. Those were on once a day I think. It probably did me some good the things I learned and such, but it probably did me even more good that I only got an hour of that a day. (as opposed to allllll day).

When I was a bit older I had shows I liked. I suppose that gets well past the "baby" or even "little kid" stage by the time I was channel surfing Ren and Stimpy and The Discovery Channel.

But the television isn't what I remember at all. Sure, there were a few things and concepts which I learned on educational television, but as far as shaping who I am and my understanding of the world: My most important and vivid memories are of doing stuff outside and socially.

The one thing I do consider a very good memory of television is that I would watch the 6:30 news every night with my parents since I was a very very young kid. I have a lot of memories of watching major world events before I could even really understand what was going on. Asking my dad questions like "Why does the Soviet president have a red thing on his head?" I remember vividly watching the berlin wall come down and seeing people storming the gates to west germany. I remember the night that my father came home with a friend who he worked with who was frantic to see coverage of the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion. Apparently his TV was broken and he was a big space buff.

Weird how I can remember a lot of things from TV that were a really big deal but I didn't really understand why they were at the time...