Say it ain't so! Is it really true that videos for babies don't make the infants smarter?
This question has been given new life with the scandal – yes, the scandal – over the Baby Einstein Co. videos.
You've heard about these, no? Baby Mozart, Baby Wordsworth, Baby da Vinci, Baby Galileo, Baby van Gogh, Baby Shakespeare. Imagine bright-colored objects floating around to lovely music on a flat screen.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no TV or video for kids under 2 (in favor of interaction with a live human being). But nobody listens to pediatricians, right?
It's so much easier just to plop the kid in front of the screen so he or she is mesmerized for a few hours, allowing mom and dad to have time to themselves.
Here's what American Baby magazine had to say in giving the videos an award: "While not every parent likes to admit their baby watches TV, when pressed, almost all moms and dads say these DVDs save them."
The magazine then quoted Alisha Ensky of Krebs, Okla., who said: "It gives me an extra half-hour to clean. I pop in Baby Einstein and my 10-month-old is glued to it."
Faced with a lawsuit for making false and deceptive claims about the educational value of baby videos, the Baby Einstein Co. recently agreed to issue refunds.
But will there be many takers? Not likely.
Parents love them. Clearly, they need a break from all the talking, playing and reading that, according to those darn experts, actually encourages learning.
What You Should Know About Comments on Sacbee.com
Sacbee.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. (See our full terms of service here.)
Here are some rules of the road:
• Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "report abuse" button to notify the moderators. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior.
• Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear.
• Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals.
• Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand. If you want to discuss an issue with a specific user, click on his profile name and send him a direct message.
• Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box.
• Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time.
• Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed.
• Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience.
You should also know that The Sacramento Bee does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "report abuse" button to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at feedback@sacbee.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.
If you submit a comment, the user name of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them, but you may ask our staff to retract one of your comments by sending an email to feedback@sacbee.com. Again, make sure you note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us your profile name.
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.