http://www.care2.com/greenliving/einstein-not-the-fraud-of-educational-videos-aimed-at-young-children.html
Einstein Not: The Fraud of Educational Videos Aimed at Young Children
Like most parents, I am skeptical when it comes to ritual television viewing for young children. Actually, let me rephrase that: I am wholly against it, and judging from empirical experience along with the loads of data out there, I see no real reason to sit your young child in front of the TV, other than maybe to carve our a half-hour for yourself (pale justification that it is). But I realize I am in the minority, as most parents, either accept TV into their children’s lives with abandon, or treat it like a necessary evil that will keep the children out of trouble for short bursts of time (think of it as an electronic babysitter). Over the last few years, instead of just cynically marketing toys and consumer goods to children, big media conglomerates have also been cynically marketing “developmental and educational” videos to parents with young children. The most popular of these have been the phenomenal Baby Einstein DVDs, selling upwards of $200 million dollars worth of media annually.
That figure is subject to change.
Baby Einstein, founded in 1997, was one of the earliest players in what became a huge electronic media market for babies and toddlers, espousing the vast developmental benefits of parking your child in front of these televisual parades of stimuli. As the companies PR claimed that the Baby Einstein products “were designed as music-focused developmental tools to stimulate babies’ brains (prompted by research proving that exposure to classical melodies can improve verbal ability, spatial intelligence, creativity, and memory in youngsters).” Now parents who faithfully plunked down money for Baby Einstein DVD’s, erroneously believing the videos would make their babies and toddlers more intelligent, can now recoup their money. The Baby Einstein Company (now owned by Disney) is providing a tacit admission of sorts, that their product has fallen fall short of the inflated claims the company initially made to make their riches.
Last year, lawyers, representing concerned parents and consumer groups, 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. Now Disney has reluctantly offered refunds (a decent thing to do), and somewhat toned down the “educational” claims of their product, without issuing a real mea culpa.
I guess this could be seen as a victory for parents and consumer groups alike, if it were just an issue about taking a media conglomerate to task for exaggerated claims. However, as it has been documented in Europe as well as by the American Academy of Pediatrics, frequent screen time for children under two is highly ill-advised, due to the fact that it poses a certain number of risks, encouraging passivity, slow language acquisition, over-excitedness, troubles with sleep and concentration as well as dependence on screens. So parents, who were faithfully looking to enhance their children’s development, likely were just keeping their children sedated under the glow of televisual shapes and colors, or worse, they were stunting their developmental growth.
Whether to invite TV into the lives of your children is somewhat of a hot button issue. Many caring and involved parents believe moderate TV viewing is fine for children. Other parents see any amount of TV as the devil and indicator of parental neglect.
Where do you stand on TV for yourself and your family? Is it realistic to ban it from your family life? Will it just become taboo? Is it OK if you watch in moderation with parental supervision? Did Disney (and the Baby Einstein people) get off easy with this voluntary refund offer? Should companies that cynically market to children (and parents) be prosecuted and/or shuttered?
Eric Steinman is a freelance writer based in Rhinebeck, N.Y. He regularly writes about food, music, art, architecture and culture and is a regular contributor to Bon Appétit among other publications.
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29 comments
add your comment »Worth checking out as a mass media critical follow up to this exchange. Funny - http://onthemedia.org/transcripts/2009/11/13/05
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I'm an 18 year old girl who's been really bothered by the amount of tv I notice kids I've babysat as well as the children of friends watching . I loved this article it spoke to many of my fears on the subject , maybe knowing things like this will make people decide to change .
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Aviva, that's why I didn't buy my kids' clothing at Wal-Mart or had to carefully screen what was available at yard sales too-trying to find kids' clothes that had characters from shows my children aren't allowed to watch is almost impossible sometimes!
And the lack of TV viewing isn't hurting them in the slightest-my older daughter has learning skills above her grade level, and the younger one prefers listening to music on the stereo (she loves the greats like Sinatra and Glenn Miller) or reading books with actual pages. She doesn't tear the books like most two-year-olds do...she actually takes looking through them seriously!
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I too, prefer that my kids live "semi-unplugged." My older daughter was raised on Magic School Bus, Mr. Rogers, Reading Rainbow, and even a little bit of the new Sesame Street, which I hate to say has been dumbed down to the point of imbecility when compared to the classic episodes. We've gotten the Old School Sesame Street DVDs, and I can definitely see the difference between the two styles! Both kids (the younger one is 2 1/2) prefer the Old School SS to the newer version, and they like the classic Disney animated movies and classic movies such as "Singin' In the Rain" and "Seven Brides For Seven Brothers" for weekend movie night fare. Sadly, PBS has taken away shows such as Mr. Rogers and Reading Rainbow from its daily lineup, so my younger daughter is watching mostly Old School or classic Disney cartoons for her entertainment (she's limited to one per day). We also have Fraggle Rock on DVD, the Muppet Show, and other things like that. Older daughter likes the Electric Company, and she also enjoys MythBusters, Dirty Jobs, and even Parking Wars (my fault; I was watching it one day and she got hooked). However, it sure beats the dreck on NickTrash these days! That channel and Cartoon Network are absolutely banned in our house, although my husband thinks there's nothing wrong with Nickelodeon (but then, he doesn't have to deal with the bad manners and backtalk that results from watching the trash on that channel, either!).
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I think a certain amount of television for kids is okay; however you as the parent should have the final say on what, when and how much. My kids, now all young adults, watched Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock, Today's Special and Barney (they range in age from 18 to 28 so they didn't watch the same shows). My kids (and now my grandkids) were exposed to age appropriate books from the time they were babies, and they all love books. They were all good readers. Like everything else in life "moderation" is they key word; along with parental behavior. If you read and like books chances are your kids will too.
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Megan, Good for you and your friend. I hope you continue to be focused in school and wish you success for your future.
I do have to say I almost take offense to what you said. I was a latch-key kid from when I was 6 and on. The TV was my companion until someone got home, even if just for background noise. I, too, was in honors classes (gifted program even), creative, and I had a healthy social life. I was part of the original MTV generation (back when they actually played music videos), and I HEARD the music. No, I didn't zone out on the visual imagery, it was just a cool addition to the stuff we were listening to. I played video games till my hands cramped. We always had a home video game system, Atari, RadioShack TRS-80, ColecoVision, and every Nintendo and Sega model ever made.I am not a criminal, nor violent. I have a loving family and I think life is pretty sweet. My kids seem to be developing pretty well, and to me that is all that matters. It is natural for me to live outside to the box, to not adhere to society's idea of what is right for me and my kids.
My point is that I don't agree with the idea that TV is bad for kids and that's that, just because some "experts" did some study and are now telling us this. Wait until you become a parent and you'll see how many people want to tell you what a bad parent you are and how the decisions you are making are ruining your children forever. Get ready to pack your bags for a long guilt trip that seems to never end.No Thank
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I am 15, and don't wacth too much TV, nor do I play video games.
one of my friends was never allowed to do either, and now is only allowed an hour of TV a day, and still no viedeo games,
She is in all honors classes, has great memory, and is rather creative.
Music is good, but when a visual imagery is with it, the child zones out, and doesn't even listen to the music.
TV is bad for kids, let's face it.
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It's all about balance. Both of my children ages 2 and 14 have watched television pretty much since birth. Maybe I have gotten lucky so far, but my 14 year old is an excellent student, very involved with church, caring, creative and quite intelligent. And even though he has a t.v. in his room, he usually has his nose in a book anyway. With my two-year old, he is a happy, healthy, active little boy. He loves HBO's Classical Baby. So much so, he can recognize the music from the shows/dvds when we are in the car or in a store that is playing one of the songs. He loves music, not just trying to sing along but also dancing to it. He can watch a show and after a few times, can mimic their actions to the point where he has memorized several dances. He also loves The Wiggles, Blue's Clues, and Sesame Street. And though I care very much about many things in my kids' lives, TV is not one of them. Many nights, we sit together as a family and watch documentaries, movies, or some silly show. We don't just sit there and veg out. There is laughter, deep conversations, sometimes even disagreements. (thank goodness for DVR) I'm sorry, but I'll take family time any way I can get it.
I think parents are the one to blame, not the TV. Do your job and stop blaming someone else...something else. If you do your job right, other influences won't matter so much anyway. Bunch of whiners!
Oh and by the way, my two year old didn't like the Baby Einstein dvds at all, and I saw why right away.
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You can take the T.V. out of the house, but you can't take it out of the community. And even if it were possible, and healthy, for you to totally shelter your kids from its influence while growing up (which would be really hard because of associations to other kids who play like the screen sometimes instructs them), how do you expect them to incorporate it in their lives once they're adults associating with other adults who've grown up in that manner?
Also, my mom wouldn't let us get cable. Perhaps this was a good idea, but I was, and am now, glued to it when given the chance. I don't subscribe myself because I worry I'd never sleep, like how I don't when house-sitting, or something, by not being able to part from it for even 40 winks.
But it's a slippery slope because T.V. is addictive, for both children and adults, and it's easy to fall into that category of letting it take over a little too much.
What we can do: Not punish ourselves because we let the kids watch it, or not watch it (that's just negative & we need productivity), but do still try to limit it if we do, and definitely encourage other activities as well.
If we give them a more rounded upbringing, they'll have more opportunities, and will probably be more apt to control themselves in addictive situations, that we can't completely keep them from, like T.V.
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My child loves Sesame Street and Yo Gabba Gabba. I'm not as fond of Yo Gabba Gabba as I am Sesame Street, but I like the songs because they promote health, friendship, and manners. I put a limit on TV everyday. She is allowed to watch TV for 1 hour and that is all she needs. Because I also read to her throughout the day, take her outside, dance, and sing with her, I feel that hour of TV is just another wonderful activity that we share together. People who plop their children in front of the tv all day should be ashamed. They are only missing out on valuable time that could be spent with their children because they are too lazy to put in the effort. Those that don't let their children watch any tv, I have a question: why? What is wrong with Sesame Street, Baby Einstein, or another educational program? These programs should just be another activity for the children and not a promise to making the "Baby Geniuses". Those parents collecting money from Disney are just trying to get a payout. What drives me crazy is the parents that think that we are poisening our children by letting them enjoy an hour of tv. You are crazy. My child loves to read, play, and use their imagination just as much as the child who doesn't watch television.
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