Baby Einstein Scam

The great Baby Einstein scam

by Mira Jacob, Shine staff,

Referenced: http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/parenting/the-great-baby-einstein-scam-531147/

Of course it was too good to be true.

The New York Times reported Thursday that Disney is offering a refund to buyers of its ubiquitous “Baby Einstein” videos, which did not, as promised, turn babies into wunderkinds. Apparently, all those puppets, bright colors, and songs were what we had feared all along—a mind-numbing way to occupy infants.

This news has rocked the parenting world, which had embraced the videos as a miraculous child-rearing staple. Videos that make your kid smarter while you prepare dinner? Genius!

Or not. According to the article, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under two years old stay away from watching screens. In the letter threatening Disney with a class-action lawsuit for "deceptive advertising," public health lawyers hired by Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood cited a study which found a link between early television exposure and later problems with attention span.

For many parents, this was the most unsettling of "duh" moments, and a confirmation that nothing, when it comes to child-rearing, is as ever easy as we'd like to make it. So why were we so quick to seize on Baby Einstein videos as technological tutors?

Still, the idea that a caper this big could be pulled off (according to the Times, in “a 2003 study, a third of all American babies from 6 months to 2 years old had at least one 'Baby Einstein' video") is mind-boggling. Disney’s refund is about as close as we’re going to get to an actual admission that we were sold snake oil, and it casts a pall over the other "educational" toys out there.

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I still believe that children should not be exposed to television due to the increase in attention disorders. Television screens fluctuate and change often causing the brain to focus and switch gears constantly during a show. While it may be a convenient way to occupy our children for short intervals while we take care of our families, we need to limit the exposure and find other ways to help our children stay involved and active. Can your child help cook dinner? Get the pots and pans out for you? Sit at the table and color? Can you keep your child by you as you cook or clean? Try and be creative as you look for solutions instead of television. It is challenging to get work done while they need constant attention, but if you can involve your child in your activities you will develop a trusting and caring relationship that will last a lifetime than a relationship with a television (or elmo)!