Baby Einstein

[TreeRose]

What do you think of Baby Einstein videos? I was going to not have DD watch TV til at least 2 yrs but we broke down and got a DVD player for the car bc she hates it so much. Now DD (10 mo) has her first cold and is so miserable I pulled a video up on YouTube and feel horribly guilty. But it's the first time she hasn't seemed unhappy in 2 days. She only watched 8 min or so... Am I a bad mom?

[howeberry]

I feel there's a big difference between using TV as an occasional treat and using it as a pacifier. Sounds like the bright moving lights and sounds of the short film successfully distracted your LO from her cold and made her feel better.  I'd probably justify it this way: Who doesn't zone out to a comfy movie once in a while, especially when sick? Try not to over think it.

[new2this]

I gave up the fight on the TV with DD(10 months). She loves it. But as far as her shows goes she only watches Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. For 30 minutes to an hour she doesn't sit the whole time and watch it but she does get excited about it and claps and screams with excitement when its on. . After that its whatever we have on and she will sit for a few minutes then move on to playing or doing whatever else she is interested in at the moment. I think everything is fine in moderation.

She was sick you let her watch it and she felt better for the moment. No harm no foul type thing IMO. 

[trekkingirl]

my kids pedi has a questioneer for well checks and one of the questions was about TV viewing. They recommend no TV for the first year. Something about brain development? I don't know much more than that. Maybe google it?

[dejagerw]

I think the harm comes from parents who think these videos will help make their babies geniuses. So they pop in a video so baby can "learn". I don't see a problem with what you're doing. But just like pp said, I wouldn't make it your go to thing to try to make baby happy. But in certain instances, I can see how it can be helpful.

[MsDolphin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TreeRose 

What do you think of Baby Einstein videos?

Have you watched one? Honestly I am not impressed with Baby Einstein videos. I tried a few and they never held DS attention. We have a DVD player in our van and I do put in DVDs for him to watch. DVDs I have for him are Elmo and Veggie Tales. He seems to enjoy them and I think they are much better than Baby Einstein.

Edited by MsDolphin - 7/8/11 at 12:36pm

[Marissamom]

DD (2 years) really likes the baby Einstein videos, but they're not any more educational than any other toddler series. I feel like TV every once in a while is fine, but we do try to not park her in front of the TV very often. 

[katelove]

There was some article a while ago about babies who did one of the BE programs actually having  a poorer vocabulary than babies who didn't do it. But "following the program" meant something like  2 hours/day which it doesn't sound like you're planning.  That said, I think I would personally  prefer not to support them.

My DH has downloaded  a few episode of Waybuloos  to his iPod for kids to watch  at work.  They are geared  towards littler children and I quite like what I have seen so far. We used one the other night when J was really upset in the car and she was captivated.

And,  FWIW, I don't think you're a horrible  mum for distracting your  sick little person with a  few  minutes of TV 

[DrBrockBaca]

One study has found that watching Baby Einstein videos is associated with a lower vocabulary in toddlers - this is probably to be due to the fact that ANY time a young infant or toddler spends in front of a TV screen by himself is taking away from social interaction, where true learning occurs. Much other research has demonstrated that infants younger than about 18 months cannot learn vocabulary without social referencing (usually live social interaction, but at least a human on a video pointing and talking). The Baby Einstein videos have voice-overs, so you can't see the person who is talking. Thus, infants and young toddlers cannot learn any vocabulary from the videos UNLESS they are watching them with an adult who is pointing out things and interacting with them during the video watching. 

That being said, not every second of every day of your child's life has to be spent trying to build her vocabulary. 

I certainly wouldn't make a habit of watching many videos with your child, but I don't think it is harmful to watch one every now and then, especially if she is sick. Just be careful not to fall into the trap of using videos as a babysitter! Always hold her and talk to her about what she is watching - make it interactive. Clap and sing a long with the music, or mimic the actions of characters.