Let's spread the word about this bit of news: Baby Einstein can no longer claim to create baby geniuses, and must even refund the price of its videos. It costs nothing to do the bottom-line best for children. Parents and caregivers need only share lots of language and a joy of being together. Attend storytimes and check out some books from the library and you have even further rich resources.
Please take a moment to read this NY Times article, "No Einstein in Your Crib? Get A Refund." by Tamar Lewin
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/24/education/24baby.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper
Comments
baby einstein
I think that this is definitely an interesting turn of events, but I have few comments to offer on the baby einstein videos. When my son was a baby, we got the first one and part of the experience for the baby was that the parent was supposed to watch w/ them and interact w/ the baby while it was going on. Ya, right--I just needed 20 minutes to get a shower in or lunch made! If he would have been content just listening to music for that amt of time, I would have just done that. However, I also took him to baby time, storytime, little gym, sang, read, and talked to him all the time, so I didn't feel that it was all that harmful--I guess we'll see now that he's 7 if his attention span is affected. ;-) I guess, for me, it comes down to having common sense and not believing everything you see or hear in advertising and using things in moderation. Oh, and by the way, my son did learn to count to 5 (or was it count backwards from 5?) very early (of course, he also has a natural affinity for numbers) due to watching Baby Einstein!
Baby Einstein
I think you've hit the nail on the head - using the videos occasionally in combination with all those good interactive things you and your baby did together. Those who rely soley or primarily on the videos, thinking they will teach their baby all he or she needs to know, are missing out on the wonderful benefits that reading, singing, playing, interacting, talking, etc. together offer. Thanks for your comment!