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Baby Einstein Videos? - Page 3

post #41 of 82
7/26/06 at 9:28am
Thread Starter 
Thank you very much for all your replies. Maybe I'll just leave it in the back of the closet for when he's older and I'm busy with #2 and need a few minutes on a hectic day. I guess it would be better than other tv.

I do have another question though...I have also read about the exposure to tv images and attention span problems. So what if I'm sitting here and the tv is on - but I'm playing with him. I like to have the news on in the mornings especially, if only for background noise. If you just make sure they aren't facing the tv is that ok?

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post #42 of 82
7/26/06 at 9:44am
When we were in Kazakhstan adopting our second child, we were in a tiny, soviet-era apartment. DS would wake up at 5 am and it would still be dark. We would watch them together then, or when it rained. I thought they were very restful (maybe it was just the 2 we had brought) but the music and the images were perfect for us when we needed a half hour's worth of entertainment.

At home, we don't watch em and ds has never even asked to see them again, even though he asked every day in Kaz. We're too busy here to watch tv.

That's just been our experience.
post #43 of 82
7/26/06 at 12:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mommy2abigail
Get rid of them. There are plenty of non-tv things you can do with your baby or toddler, even when you (or them!) is sick. I would never plunk dd down in front of a tv. I look at tv like junk food. Yeah, it wont kill you if you eat it in moderation, but there is really NO reason for it. Yeah you may get something educational from the Discovery Channel or TLC, but you could just as easily read about it, or even better learn it first hand whenever possible. Especially with babies and toddlers. Why would I put a video on with toys (cheap plastic ones at that!) when I could play IN REAL LIFE with dd's toys. No way. The twenty or thirty minutes of peace a day is not worth it. I would rather just let her be bored than sit her in front of the tv. Boredom is the gateway for imagination.
post #44 of 82
7/26/06 at 12:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mommy2abigail
Yeah you may get something educational from the Discovery Channel or TLC, but you could just as easily read about it,
I'm all for reading but you don't think they can get something DIFFERENT out of watching the animals? If I only read of animals in Africa or other places & never WATCHED them...I wouldn't have the knowledge I have on them. My point is, it has a place. I do NOT plop my kids in fron of a TV but if they DO watch it should be something BETTER than cartoon network...and Baby E is.
post #45 of 82
7/26/06 at 12:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by JamesMama
Personally I love Baby Einstein.

I have no illusions that they are going to make my kid super smart or something, but they do entertain him, they have no violence or obnoxious behavior like other shows. The noise doesn't drive me insane and they keep him entertained.

James is terrified of the dark, so when we have to drive at night I pop a Baby Einstein in the portable DVD player and he's good to go.
Don't love BE but like some of them... like Baby Van Gogh, and Baby Monet. My son loves puppets and these videos have puppets that make him laugh.

I hate BARNEY and DORA and the cartoons on TV. We don't watch any of that. The BE DVDs, for their credit, have some counting, ABC's, and 123s. A lot of the music is soothing. The newer BE DVDs are computer animated, cheaply made, and poor quality. I agree that my son won't become an Einstein from watching these "movies," but at the same time, I don't think he is losing anything (i.e. brain cells) by watching one OCCASIONALLY.

I understand why BE videos are a hotly debated topic. I think this is truly a matter of parenting --- if you don't fall down the slippery slope of letting your child watch too much TV/DVDs, then you are okay. Some people just use BE and other DVDs to babysit their child. This is unacceptable.
post #46 of 82
7/26/06 at 12:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cardinal
Don't love BE but like some of them... like Baby Van Gogh, and Baby Monet. My son loves puppets and these videos have puppets that make him laugh.

I hate BARNEY and DORA and the cartoons on TV. We don't watch any of that. The BE DVDs, for their credit, have some counting, ABC's, and 123s. A lot of the music is soothing. The newer BE DVDs are computer animated, cheaply made, and poor quality. I agree that my son won't become an Einstein from watching these "movies," but at the same time, I don't think he is losing anything (i.e. brain cells) by watching one OCCASIONALLY.

I understand why BE videos are a hotly debated topic. I think this is truly a matter of parenting --- if you don't fall down the slippery slope of letting your child watch too much TV/DVDs, then you are okay. Some people just use BE and other DVDs to babysit their child. This is unacceptable.


But I DO love Dora!
Barney...oh, Lord...I'd rather watch Bonanza reruns...
post #47 of 82
7/26/06 at 12:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ZeldasMom
There was a funny little piece on the front page of the Janurary 17, 2006 issue of The Onion where they listed the top-selling educational baby dvd titles. They were:
-Don't worry, Mozart Will Watch the Kids
-My First Screen
-Topographic Surveying and Geodetic Basics
-Learn to Watch DVDs

I didn't include one of the titles because I thought some people might find it offensive. But you can find it if you go to www.theonion.com and look in the archive.



love the onion
post #48 of 82
7/26/06 at 12:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by rmzbm
I'm all for reading but you don't think they can get something DIFFERENT out of watching the animals? If I only read of animals in Africa or other places & never WATCHED them...I wouldn't have the knowledge I have on them. My point is, it has a place. I do NOT plop my kids in fron of a TV but if they DO watch it should be something BETTER than cartoon network...and Baby E is.
exactly.
post #49 of 82
7/26/06 at 12:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by pinkmilk
I would NEVER put my baby down in front of the tv to enjoy some "music".
It goes against everything that is natural. Babies are hard-wired to put thier attention to things they have never seen so they can watch and analize. Babies brains are sponges for information and this information should never be delivered to a baby in two dimention.

When babies see something new they pysically CANNOT look away. It's built into them to learn this way.Baby Einstien videos are very quick, jumping from one scene to another, making impossible for a baby to look away(even if they want to).

i KNOW YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING NO HARM TO YOUR BABY BUT PLEASE RECONSIDER . Their brains are not ready for t.v.
Hmm. I guess I take issue with the idea that watching a 25-minute Baby Einstein DVD once a week is somehow going to harm my baby. I don't believe it at all. My child does not sit zombie-like while watching the THREE-DIMENSIONAL objects on the screen. When we do seldom let him view the BE DVD, he laughs, mimics the puppets, points, and squeals with delight. How is he being harmed again?
post #50 of 82
7/26/06 at 12:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cardinal
Hmm. I guess I take issue with the idea that watching a 25-minute Baby Einstein DVD once a week is somehow going to harm my baby. I don't believe it at all. My child does not sit zombie-like while watching the THREE-DIMENSIONAL objects on the screen. When we do seldom let him view the BE DVD, he laughs, mimics the puppets, points, and squeals with delight. How is he being harmed again?
Yeah, no kidding. My babe watches NO TV & the big kids watch...oh, maybe 30 min. 3 or 4 times a week! Oh, the harm!
post #51 of 82
7/26/06 at 12:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by rmzbm
I'm all for reading but you don't think they can get something DIFFERENT out of watching the animals? If I only read of animals in Africa or other places & never WATCHED them...I wouldn't have the knowledge I have on them. My point is, it has a place. I do NOT plop my kids in fron of a TV but if they DO watch it should be something BETTER than cartoon network...and Baby E is.
so before the popularity of vcr's at home (around the 80's or so for affordable units) it wasn't possible to learn about animals or space or music?

please!

for us ancient mamas who were already well into middle school and high school before vcr's were widely available, your rationale is riddled with holes.

growing up, i read tons and tons of book, and as an animal lover, begged my parents to sign me up for those "animal cards" that came in a packet once a month. i read the encyclopedia. for birthday presents each year, my aunt and uncle were kind enough to buy me subscriptions to national geographic (not the kid's edition) at my request.

in any case, i am not worried about my dd's education about animals. i'll take the $$ that i saved not buying dvd's by purchasing a yearly membership to our aquarium. we'll go to the library and read all about animals. we'll go to the duck pond and horse farm and learn and talk about the animals.

i don't expect a tv program to replace the learning that we plan to do together. i certainly won't attest to the 'superiority' or necessity of it as a method of educating my child.
post #52 of 82
7/26/06 at 1:01pm
Oh for crying out loud! I said something DIFFERENT not BETTER! I cannot believe I am defending TV here! We do go to zoo's, libraries...but watching it is GOOD as well. It's interesting. Some people don't have access to places they can see "real" animals. I remember watching these shows growing up, we did it as a family & I have great memories as a result.
post #53 of 82
7/26/06 at 1:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by rmzbm
We do go to zoo's, libraries...but watching it is GOOD as well. It's interesting. Some people don't have access to places they can see "real" animals. I remember watching these shows growing up, we did it as a family & I have great memories as a result.
no question of the value-my six yo loves looking at/reading books, but for her to see cheetahs or meerkats in motion and in their natural habitat (I'm not a big fan of animals being in captivity)- well-that's a wonderful opportunity. She also loves watching the educational videos on cosmeo (a great resource from the discovery channel.)
post #54 of 82
7/26/06 at 2:24pm
I read the most hilarious blog entry on BE videos. The dad showed his daughter videos of other babies watching BE from youtube. It was so funny to watch all the videos of kids watching BE, all of thier parents recording it for posterity! "Here's James watching his Baby Einstein. HE just loves it." There was at least 10 videos - probably more.
post #55 of 82
7/26/06 at 3:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cardinal
Hmm. I guess I take issue with the idea that watching a 25-minute Baby Einstein DVD once a week is somehow going to harm my baby. I don't believe it at all. My child does not sit zombie-like while watching the THREE-DIMENSIONAL objects on the screen. When we do seldom let him view the BE DVD, he laughs, mimics the puppets, points, and squeals with delight. How is he being harmed again?
he is being harmed because the images he sees on the tv screen are not real and a baby can not get this concept of was is real and what is not. it messes with his world. and i'm talking babies...not 2 or 3 yr. olds.kwim??

25 minutes is a long time for a baby to be watching t.v.
post #56 of 82
7/26/06 at 4:11pm
First of all, before I say anything else, I'm not going to judge anyone for letting their DC watch a video here and there. Personally, we don't expose our babe to television, and DP and I watch very limited amounts ourselves. Thta's just us, and no, I don't believe that a 25-minute DVD played once or twice a month is going to do much harm as long as that is the only time a babe spends in front of the TV. Are there better ways to spend time? Certainly. But we all know that.

I take issue with Baby Einstein and Brainy Baby though. The companies have made disgusting amounts of money by fooling new parents into thinking that their children will be better off by watching these videos, when it is already established that screen time damages a developing child's mind. They are preying on parents' wishes to do what is best for their children, and profiting quite nicely from this, even though the DVDs are contributing to a whole host of problems in this generation. (I'm talking about the majority of parents who plop their kids in front of the TV for at least an hour a day, not the MDC mamas who strictly limit screen time.) As long as Disney and whoever does the Brainy Baby DVDs are knowingly harming a generation of children, they won't be getting any of our money.
post #57 of 82
7/26/06 at 4:12pm
Well said, Dantesmama.
post #58 of 82
7/26/06 at 4:17pm
Everything I've found has indicated that the "Mozart Effect" studies were on 18-21 year old college students, who showed a moderate increase in rote learning retention that lasted for a very short time. And that this only applied to real classical music played by a full orchestra, not one piano playing the piano part of a Mozart selection.

From my research, Baby Einstein has 4 main problems: 1) Aimed at kids about 18 years too young for the Mozart Effect studies; 2) Uses simple melodies instead of the complex ones required to show any effect; 3) Presumes that rote learning is useful unto itself; and 4) Presumes that television viewing is beneficial/neutral.

My opinion on Baby Einstein has been that it's a complete marketing racket. It will not make your child any smarter or teach them anything they can't learn in another way. So while it may be less damaging than them watching adult television or many violent cartoons, it's not benefiting them either.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sagesgirl
There is no indication that these things will make your child smarter (the so-called "Mozart Effect" that says music makes kids smarter has been shown to evaporate by the third grade).
Can you point me to a link or info about this? I'm not trying to be rude, I'm really genuinely curious about and have been collecting research about the "mozart effect." I've seen studies that talk about the effect of preschool learning and school-readiness programs wearing off by third grade, but I haven't seen any mozart effect studies on K-12 kids.
post #59 of 82
7/26/06 at 4:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChristyMarie
I do have another question though...I have also read about the exposure to tv images and attention span problems. So what if I'm sitting here and the tv is on - but I'm playing with him. I like to have the news on in the mornings especially, if only for background noise. If you just make sure they aren't facing the tv is that ok?
The background noise can interfere with a babe's language and speech development. http://www.ivanhoe.com/science/story/2005/09/55si.html
post #60 of 82
7/26/06 at 4:29pm
In terms of the speed of the show, BE does seem to be slower-paced. We watch Maisy on Noggin here instead though. I don't like the marketing racket behind BE so I boycott it on principle, just like Walmart.

The pace comment reminded me, though, that dd at about 14 months old discovered a video at a relatives house that was intended for cats. Natural speed images and natural sound of birds flying around, squirrels, etc. She was totally enchanted. She sat there and watched it until we dragged her away.

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