Congratulations to the Campaign for a Commercial-Free
Childhood (CCFC) !
Note: for a list of studies looking at the effects
of TV on very young children see:
http://www.tvsmarter.com/documents/young.html
CCFC successfully pressured "the Walt Disney Company
to offer a full refund to anyone who purchased a Baby
Einstein DVD in the last five years."
http://www.commercialexploitation.org/b ... efund.html
This is in addition to their "2006 Federal Trade Commission
complaint" which forced Disney to stop making false claims
that Baby Einstein DVDs were educational.
The New York Times had an interesting article about this:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/24/educa ... od=myyahoo
Perhaps "Baby Einstein" should be renamed "Baby Bozo" !Last year, lawyers threatened a class-action lawsuit
for unfair and deceptive practices unless Disney agreed
to refund the full purchase price to all who bought the
videos since 2004. “The Walt Disney Company’s entire
Baby Einstein marketing regime is based on express and
implied claims that their videos are educational and
beneficial for early childhood development,” a letter
from the lawyers said, calling those claims “false
because research shows that television viewing is
potentially harmful for very young children.”
But it was the comments that were the most fun,
here are a few that I especially liked:
I watched some of these videos with my grandson.
All it teaches is how to watch television.
Einstein did not watch TV as a child. Neither did
he play video games or text anyone. He played outdoors
and did a lot of hiking in the mountains. So if parents
want little Einsteins, maybe they should take away the
TV, the cell phones and the video games and tell their
kids to go take a hike.
There's been evidence that these videos actually inhibit
mental development. Studies also suggest that face to face
interaction between a baby and a live person is far more
beneficial. A parent's reaction to a baby's noises or
attempts at speech is where the true benefit for linguistic
development lies.
Make them offer refunds on all Disney productions that
decreased intellect. No shortage of those.
For years I've also heard that putting any child under 2 in
front of the tv can harm their later ability to concentrate
and learn. I'm wondering, did the Baby Einstein videos not
just not help - but possibly have harmed - the babies who
watched them?
Fantastic news. I've been angry about those video's for
years already. I hope this is the start of recognition for
the fact that tv does not make children (of any age) smarter.
Children learn by playing, by interacting with the world and
by imitating adults.
Folks, the fact that your child watched these videos and is
now well-adjusted and above average means nothing. The
evidence says that they would have been well-adjusted and
above average without the videos as well - and that the only
effect was that you very slightly increased their chances
of having attention problems later in like. Anecdotal
evidence is pointless here - in general, kids shouldn't watch
TV before age 2. Period. If your kid is doing well, great! Odds
are, they'd be doing just a little bit better without the videos.
People managed to raise their children (and even bathe) 50 years
ago without everpresent TV. Work a little less, buy less junk,
and spend more time with your kids. It's not impossible.
See also:Remember when George W. Bush praised the founder of Baby Einstein
at one of his State of the Union speeches? Just like "the ownership
society" where everyone can get a mortgage or "being greeted like
liberators", is there anything he said or did that didn't seem to
get seriously questioned in the end?
http://tvsmarter.wordpress.com/2008/03/ ... ucational/
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