Baby Einstein opinions

[whole wheat buns]

What do you all think? Are these "educational", "creativity inspiring" movies really good for little ones to watch. I own a couple and my son 7months really loves them. He will sit there barely blinking throughout the whole thing. He really likes the puppets. That is the only thing I've let him watch. Does anyone else have any of these? Your opinions please!

[wombat]

I wasn't too impressed with them however my dd did like them. And I gotta say they were a godsend when I needed to take a shower.

I found dd went through stages of watching them and not watching them.

Personally I think in small doses they're fine. For entertainment that is. I don't believe in using them for educational purposes. I think that's just a marketing gimic. I hate all this educational stuff for babies - I mean life is educational - you don't NEED to go buy all that stuff. But if you need some emergency entertainment, they're good.

[MamaBug]

My kids were older when I got one out the library just to check them out. I think for once in a while they are ok but in general it is recommended that babies not watch any tv. I think they love the colors and that keeps their attention. My SIL has tons of these videos for her dd and she says that she loves them. I think the music ones would be good just to expose them to that kind of music. JMO

[gethane]

They are baby heroin. I must admit, when pregnant with Slater and through his early newborn period I couldn't BELIEVE people would put their babies in front of a tv. But then... after months with no shower, and cooking supper every night while the baby bawled (high needs, figures I'd get one eventually, since he's my 4th) I broke down and tried it. He's 8 months old now and I probably put it on 2-3 times a week when I just absolutely can't take his velcro neediness for 30 minutes. Often its when I'd just like to eat one meal without him upending my plate on him, me, everywhere.

[Attila the Honey]

Yeah, I think if you are going to have your babe watch TV then they aren't the worst choice. But it's best nto to put them in front of the TV at all! And I feel like the whole educational aspect is just a way to help parents not feel guilty that their baby is watching tv, ykwim?

Having said all that, I did buy my dd a book by them. I liked it because it had alot of art in it, well known paintings etc. and I thought it seemed pretty nifty. At the very least, a book that didn't bore *me* to tears.

I think kids *can* learn alot from TV, but it's better if they learn it from you. Sesame St. (for example) can teach a kid their A-B-Cs and up vs down, but so can you. And if you teach it to your dc, well, then they have the added benefit of time with mommy or daddy!

[MamaBug]

Gethane just saw Slater, he is so cute! You quilts are just beautiful! I would love to learn to quilt, it is on my to do list!


I don't think a little tv killed anyone but these things are marketed to ppl not like us that will have the kid in front of it everytime he/she cries kwim?

[thistle]

My dd, who is typically zombified by anything on TV saw these a few times and did not seem impressed.

I do like the Baby Van Gogh books though

thistle

[Tracy]

DS loves baby einstein.
Baby Doolittle is still his favorite.
We have several and he's had them since he was 1. He's 3 now and I'm probably going to pass some of them on now. they were a godsend and frankly I also liked them.

hugs
tracy

[gethane]

Originally Posted by SoccerMom

Gethane just saw Slater, he is so cute! You quilts are just beautiful! I would love to learn to quilt, it is on my to do list!

Thanks so much SoccerMom!

You can do it! I was inspired to learn to quilt after the birth of my first child. I had never even sewn on a sewing machine! Read lots of books, then find a simple pattern and just try it! It's lots of fun (though I haven't had time lately )

[sntm]

I agree that they are better than most regular TV and can be good for soothing fussy babies when the old stand-bys (nursing, rocking, etc.) aren't working. In small doses, I think it may even be educational (we are > 2 hours from the nearest zoo and I WOH, so I like putting on a Baby Genius (dumb name) tape of the San Diego zoo -- DS is fascinated by giraffes and elephants.)

Some of the ones for older kids are cool. DS (at 14 mo) loves loves LOVES Baby Galileo. The cinematography is actually wonderful -- time-lapse film of clouds rushing by, sunsets into the ocean, stars spinning in the sky.

[chalupamom]

We had a couple of them for those "can't-stand-it-gotta-take-a-shower" times and thought that were fairly benign as far as baby entertainment goes. My son liked them well enough. Our daughter is only 6 months so we haven't reached the time when I feel I need them, but I know it's coming.

I prefer the pre-Disney tapes (we have Baby Einstein, Shakespear, Santa and Doolittle). We were given a couple post-Disney DVDs as recent baby gifts (Gallileo and another one - forget the name - about shapes) and have found them not nearly as charming from an adult perspective. Plus, they seem to manage to throw in a couple Disney ads within the tape - the Neptune tape has some shots of fountains at Epcot. My favorite was the Shakespeare - it had lots of poetry I remembered from growing up and reminded me how much I enjoyed it.

[Mommy2Brittani]

the shape one is Baby Newton. I have almost all the baby einstein tapes, and they were great, until my dd hit 18 months and we got her Veggie Tales, Dora, and Bob The Builder.

Ideally though, you will not be letting your kid watch too much tv...yes, do learn from my mistakes.

[srain]

We were given a few and I didn't like them because the ones we had cut fairly quickly from shot to shot- not as fast as MTV, but much faster than you'd turn your head in real life, and I didn't want to encourage that kind of short attention span in my son.