Little One just LOVES
Baby Einstein. Hubby and I were really shocked to see her go
nuts watching and listening to
Baby Beethoven: Symphony of Fun. She was bouncing, dancing, jumping, singing, "talking" and squealing! Too cute!
At first, I was a bit uncertain about letting her watch
any TV at such a young age. My mother-in-law was listening to a radio program about how babies who watch TV (DVDs, videos, etc) are more likely to become couch potatoes (not in those exact words) and how it delays their development because they aren't forced to use their imagination and creativity.
I then wondered if letting Little One watch her Baby Einstein DVDs was in a way doing her a terrible disservice. I was also worried about her being
overstimulated. Little One
loves listening to music and watching all the different colours, shapes and animals on the screen... and it's not like she watches TV
all the time. She gets time to play on her play mat, crawl, play with her toys, play with mom and dad, and with her piano. I read to her and sing to her every day.
I checked out dozens upon dozens of websites and articles on this very subject. A lot of the feedback came back positive for the Baby Einstein DVDs or any other learning/discovery DVDs. Surely, if you just plop your kid in front of the TV and let him or her watch hours and hours of TV, I can understand the arguments against that. Many of the videos are designed for parents to watch the videos with baby and interact with baby.
Personally, I think these learning tools are fantastic. Little One now opens and closes her hands when we sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. We're still working on the clapping part. Do I think these kinds of videos make babies smarter? Not really. Most probably not. However, for the musical aspect, Little One enjoys it.
Just an aside (about the plopping one's kid in front of the TV bit), I
have put on a DVD or TV program for Little One so I can do dishes, laundry or cook. Do I feel guilty? Nope. Well, in the beginning I did. Now I realize that moms need to do what they have to do sometimes.
A few of my friends who have babies have also said that their babies love the Baby Einstein videos. My biggest concern was for Little One being exposed to too much TV. I don't want her addicted to the boob tube or having the attention span of a goldfish. At the same time, I don't think it's too bad for her if she watches and listens to Baby Mozart or Baby Beethoven every now and then :) After all, music cultivates creativity.
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9 comments:
My daughter really enjoyed these as well. So did many of the babies I cared for in the NICU. Did you hear about Baby Einstein in the news? Apparently it has been under major attack recently, and they are now offering refunds for their DVD's!
http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/28/baby-einsteins-refund-not-so-smart/
Momisodes:
WOW! Really?!?! THAT's what my MIL was telling me! Thanks for sharing the link! I'm going to check it out right now. xoxo
I was just planning to write a post about this in the next day or two. What I know is that nothing replaces time spent with mom and dad. But don't worry, Little One gets PLENTY of that. She is a very lucky kid. For more of my opinions, you'll just have to wait for my blog post. ;)
Where language ends, music begins.
hi c - i don't know if you've heard this but over here in the u.s., disney is offering refunds to parents who bought little einstein dvd's in the hopes that it would make their kids smarter but their kids are still dumbasses (haha). they are offering to cough up $14.99 for up to 4 dvd's.
[wait ---duh, momisodes already mentioned the refunds in her comments...]
personally, i never bought any one of these dvd's for tc. not that i had anything against them, but i didn't feel that tc should be watching any tv at such a young age.
i don't want to sound like a black cloud (please dont' send me hate mail) but i don't think these so called "educational" videos make kids any smarter. if anything, they could possibly be setting up kids to have shorter attention spans.
sure, they're fun to look at but i felt my daughter would be more stimulated by us actually playing with her or giving her things to play with (non electronic - i hate toys that needed batteries, that lit up, etc).
i don't think those videos are the antichrist or anything. it would be a problem if parents use the videos as some sort of 'electronic babysitter' and don't even interact with their kids. you know that happens in real life too.
everything is ok in moderation.
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mullike
J:
Ooooooooh! Can't wait to read that post of yours!!! I'll be checking for it!
Yes, I agree with you. NOTHING replaces time with mom and dad. That's for sure!
CC:
Of course I'm not going to send you hate mail! LOL! :) Actually, we never bought any of the videos and DVDs. They were all hand-me-downs from my friend's two sons who have since outgrown them.
I don't think that the videos make babies smarter or give them advantages that way. I think the only reason I let Little One watch them is just because she likes the music and watching the colours and shapes. Basically for the sole purpose of enjoyment.
Yeah, I agree with you on the part about TV/videos contributing to kids having shorter attention spans. I can totally see that happening.
Hubby watches the news and some of his shows on TV with Little One on his lap and sometimes it worries me that she'll become addicted to the boob tube. Scary. Then I think about all the time during the day in her wakeful hours when she's playing with her toys, being read to (she LOVES books!!!), and playing and playing with me. Then I feel a lot better knowing that just a fraction of her day is spent exposed to TV.
Ooooooooooops! That should have read "playing and singing with me"! Not playing and playing...though she does that too! For HOURS on end! There was a time where she would not nap during the day! Now she's gotten into a routine of:
AM - wake up, eat/nurse, play, play, play, read, nap. Repeat all of the above.
hi c - i didn't mean you, i meant your readers. i tend to be overly blunt. that's all. : )
I hated Barney so tc never watched that. I also hated Elmo - he was also a persona or creature non grata. and of course, you know of my utter disdain for the disney princess doormats (except for mulan, she can kick ass, and for belle because she's smart except I didn't like that she ended up with the beast)
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redulty