Disney Expands Refunds On "Baby Einstein" DVDs

New York Times:

Parent alert: the Walt Disney Company is now offering refunds for all those "Baby Einstein" videos that did not make children into geniuses.

They may have been a great electronic baby sitter, but the unusual refunds appear to be a tacit admission that they did not increase infant intellect.

Read the whole story: New York Times

Comments

[dr e schwarz]

MEGA DISNEY FINALLY NOW DOING RIGHT THING!

The Disney refund story is incredible positive news in the world of children, parents, and media/technology, etc. It has huge implications for child development and family life and the evolving relationships of kids and families with media companies in popular culture. It is a BIG BIG story!. I am a child psychiatrist and expert in this field and in the process of publishing a book - Kids, Parents, and Technology: An Instruction Manual for Young Families -- ETA 1 month or so -- I applaud those who fought so hard and even Disney

EITAN D SCHWARZ MD FAACAP DLFAPA
www.mydigitalfamly.org

[topkatnc]

When I would keep my granddaughter between when she was 6 mos. to 18 mos. old...I tried to get her to enjoy watching Baby Einsten...She could have cared less....She was more of a Doodlebop fan than Einsten fan....She was smarter than I thought !....{ she gets it from me }

[uhles]

If your so smart, why did you buy them?

[topkatnc]

Sweetie , I didn't buy them...I was talking about the show that comes on in the morning on the disney channel...So sorry to shoot down your one liner.......case closed....

[1differentdrummer]

Reading to them, minimizing tv and using the public library every week worked like a charm with our kids. Then there was travel and every trip was a learning experience, making up stories etc. At school they were off the charts on vocabulary. I'm not sure what intelligence is, but I know it when I see it. I'm fairly sure that no tv will build intelligence but properly planned and managed minimal tv watching can help some in developing content.

[steppenwolfsayshi]

Yes! I'm fairly sure those videos could be linked with slower development. There is no shortcut.

[VOTER]

August 13, 2007

http://consumerist.com/289008/walt-disney-demands-retraction-from-university-of-washington-over-baby-einstein-video-press-release

[VOTER]

Suggestion: USE the Public Library and READ to your children.

Take your little ones with you to the Library and allow them to check out books
with you on your card, as you also check some books out for yourself.

When your child is old enough to have their own Public Library Card, usually age 5 or 6,
make getting their own Library Card, THE MOST SPECIAL GIFT, for that particular birthday.

Also, we had magnetic alphabet letters on the front of our refrigerator and made up
games for learning the alphabet and simple words.
The side of the refrigerator had magnetic numbers and we used them to help teach
counting.

[apoyo]

Duh!!!!!!!!!!

[court29]

How many parents are going to go to Disney and say, "well, my kid isn't smart after all. I'd like my $16.99 back." To me, this is a win-win for Disney. I'm assuming alot of the parents that bought this are well meaning and maybe a little anxious about developing their kids intellect. The same parents are not going to turn around and admit that their kid isn't that bright..

[Jeff Enabe]

Books > Disney Videos. Cheaper too!

[sski74]

Any parent who thinks they can plop their child in front of a TV/video and the child will be smarter is clearly not an "Einstein" them self. Come on! Videos don't make your child smarter, time and effort on the part of the parent does. Stop looking for the easy way out.

[ifitwereme]

oh noes I've raised 2 short bus kids.

[sski74]

Your comment is inappropriate and insensitive to children with learning disabilities.

[sonoffestus]

I used to get upset with kids, then I realized it the parents who s--k.

[aweissnet]

Disney is a scourage. I can't even begin to fathom the damage they've done with the garbage they've peddled for years. Ask a woman--she'll know what I'm talking about.

[Mach8]

We used the "Brainy Baby" DVDs. They worked AWESOME! My kid could write ABCs and do basic math before kindergarten.

[thaggas]

For about five minutes a week, my 3yo can do that, plus I get to interact with them.

[Mach8]

It cost me a half-hour a day so that my kid could...

Name all basic shapes

Pronounce and write the alphabet and basic sentences

Name all colors

Do basic addition from numbers 1 through 9

After mastering those concepts, we used the LeapFrog DVDs for more advanced reading and grammar, plus advanced addition and subtraction.

Baby Einstein may not work but there are plenty of them that perform as advertised. A half-hour out of the day is minuscule and never prevented me from sharing time with my kid. I spent time getting my child to completely understand the concepts and straight As in school is the result. Videos are supplements not substitutes... and there are many effective ones out there.

[itchcity]

i learned to read at 4, you know how? by reading a damn book.

[Mach8]

So you learned to read by reading? YOU LIE!

[Bitsko]

The exotic belief system of the domestic yuppie needs to be more heavily researched.

[ImissBush]

well
we can tell
ur parents
werent concerned
about ur
education

:)

[bobo5]

There's these things called books you can read to kids. Then there is also going outdoors and exploring nature. You can also make stuff with your own hands.

[ImissBush]

& posting here

[Topfeeder]

I have to LOL at the new craze among parents, teaching the non-verbal baby sign language. Yep, that is really going to raise that IQ too. Why can't people just relax and enjoy their babies?

[bonthomme]

I'm guessing you don't have kids. Teaching kids sign language is not about making them geniuses, but instead an attempt to communicate with them before they've acquired a far more complicated set of verbal skills. You only need to teach them 5 to 10 signs, and that makes a world of difference in divining what they want (as opposed to them using crying as the universal while you try to figure out what the problem is).

Meanwhile, back on topic, Einstein never watched television.

[Topfeeder]

Wrong. I have 2 kids, one bio and one step. Isn't it amazing that mothers and fathers figured out what their kids needed for centuries before they started teaching them ASL? Some educators even believe that the need to verbalize and order their thoughts increases a baby's IQ and awareness and that teaching signs can actually stunt language development.