I'm sure you've heard by now that Disney is issuing refunds for Baby Einstein Videos. And my honest reaction? I think the whole thing is a little insulting to parents' intelligence.
I don't know about you, but I never assumed the DVDs did anything but entertain. We own quite a few and they have played a key role in my ability to get a shower, get dinner on the table and complete an important phone call now and again. Neither of our kids has gotten a steady diet of them (maybe watching 2-3 per week) and I honestly do not see the harm. Maybe in the perfect world, there would be no TV for the under 2 set, or no TV for anyone period. But here in reality, they entertain my kids for a few minutes and I see absolutely nothing wrong with that.
And in general, I honestly find TV to be at least somewhat beneficial. Tabby knows tons of music terms from Little Einstein (and uses them in her every-day speech and pretend) and a respectable amount of Spanish from Dora (the child counted to 10 in Spanish correctly before English! and it's not like we weren't encouraging her in English). Of course it doesn't replace things like puzzles or books … largely, in my opinion because they frequently have the added component of parental interaction. And I can't quite see the logic behind the people that are so militantly against TV. Sure I've heard the studies, but there is a big gap between correlation and causality. For me, another old adage works well here and in most situations: Everything in moderation, including moderation.
So I will not be asking for my money back. As far as I'm concerned, I got what I paid for … a little entertainment for my kids.
omg. That article is a CRACKUP. Haha!! By the way, I totally agree with you.
I thought it was silly that anyone took them up on it. They shouldn't have had that sticker.
Agreed. The Mini loves his “tv” time as much as I like my shower time. And while we usually watch very little TV, it's a lifesaver when we do bust it out. Especially with two kids.
Although, I can't say the same about it adding interaction a lot of the time. He'll tell me what's going on, but largely, he tells me to stop singing, dancing, repeating the dialogue. “MAMA NO SING!”
I let him watch Elmo when I needed to pee, and other quick things when he was LG's age. I haven't done that with her. Then again, I don't read as much to her either. Ahhh parental guilt.