Baby Einstein is bullshit
Excuse the title of this post, but I feel a little vindicated by this research, since I thought these videos were suspect from the beginning, especially b/c of their extravagant claims. Even the name "Baby Einstein" - like watching a video would make your kid a genius! What rot. The take-home message of the research project: these videos are not educational AT ALL, and any time your baby spends watching them reduces time they could and should spend interacting with a person, which is what really develops a baby's brain (though IMO if you need 20 minutes to take a shower or eat a sandwich, feel free to plunk your baby in front of it b/c it will keep them occupied!) Below is the link to the full article and an excerpt (I like the plug for Sesame St):
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20167189/site/newsweek/
Newsweek
WEB EXCLUSIVE
Aug 7, 2007
Are Educational Videos Bad for Your Baby?
By Jeneen Interlandi
According to a new study, popular infant educational DVDs like ‘Baby Einstein’ and ‘Brainy Baby’ may actually slow language development rather than enhance it.
Educational videos designed to stimulate young minds, like “Baby Einstein” and “Brainy Baby,” may actually impede language development, according to a new study published this week in the Journal of Pediatrics. The DVDs have become one of the most popular educational tools for parents, with promises to build the vocabulary and enhance the cognitive development of babies as young as 3 months old. The baby-brain industry now represents about $20 billion a year, according to Susan Gregory Thomas, author of Buy Buy Baby (Houghton Mifflin, 2007). But the claims of these manufacturers are largely unsubstantiated. And the new study says they may do more harm than good.
Researchers at the University of Washington and Seattle Children’s Hospital Research Institute reported that for every hour infants 8-16 months old spent watching such programs, they understood an average of 6 to 8 fewer words than other infants who were not exposed to the videos. (Baby DVDs and videos had no positive or negative effect on the vocabularies of toddlers 17 to 24 months of age, researchers said.)
. . . .
NEWSWEEK: Why did you decide to do this study?
Fredrick Zimmerman: Parents are getting a very mixed message here—they’re hearing loud and clear from marketers of these products that they can be very educational for their children. But in fact, there’s no scientific evidence to support that at all.
NEWSWEEK: What’s the difference between the content of something like Baby Einstein and traditional educational television programs like “Sesame Street” and “Blue's Clues”?
FZ: Shows that are educational have a specific educational agenda. In other words, they have learning objectives for every segment of the show. “Sesame Street,” for example, if they decide that a particular segment should teach the child the letter J, they’ll design it from the ground up with that learning objective in mind. Then they’ll test it with real children to see if they really do in fact learn to recognize the letter J. And if it doesn’t work, they’ll trash that segment and start again. Baby videos claim to be educational but they don’t go through that process—they don’t develop learning objectives and they don’t go through rigorous testing.
. . .
NEWSWEEK: What would you like to see in terms of regulations or changes in advertising for these DVDs?
FZ: The contribution of this study is to serve as a wake-up call to the marketers of these products—to say, “Hey we don’t see any benefit here and we see some evidence of possible harm.” But I don’t want to oversell that—I don’t want to panic anyone. Still, parents should definitely know that marketers can make any claim they want. You can produce a video in your basement and tell people that anyone who watches it will definitely turn into Mozart—and no one will stop you from saying that. And those claims are effective. At the population level, about a third of parents have bought into those claims. So parents should just realize that people are making a lot of money off this.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20167189/site/newsweek/
Newsweek
WEB EXCLUSIVE
Aug 7, 2007
Are Educational Videos Bad for Your Baby?
By Jeneen Interlandi
According to a new study, popular infant educational DVDs like ‘Baby Einstein’ and ‘Brainy Baby’ may actually slow language development rather than enhance it.
Educational videos designed to stimulate young minds, like “Baby Einstein” and “Brainy Baby,” may actually impede language development, according to a new study published this week in the Journal of Pediatrics. The DVDs have become one of the most popular educational tools for parents, with promises to build the vocabulary and enhance the cognitive development of babies as young as 3 months old. The baby-brain industry now represents about $20 billion a year, according to Susan Gregory Thomas, author of Buy Buy Baby (Houghton Mifflin, 2007). But the claims of these manufacturers are largely unsubstantiated. And the new study says they may do more harm than good.
Researchers at the University of Washington and Seattle Children’s Hospital Research Institute reported that for every hour infants 8-16 months old spent watching such programs, they understood an average of 6 to 8 fewer words than other infants who were not exposed to the videos. (Baby DVDs and videos had no positive or negative effect on the vocabularies of toddlers 17 to 24 months of age, researchers said.)
. . . .
NEWSWEEK: Why did you decide to do this study?
Fredrick Zimmerman: Parents are getting a very mixed message here—they’re hearing loud and clear from marketers of these products that they can be very educational for their children. But in fact, there’s no scientific evidence to support that at all.
NEWSWEEK: What’s the difference between the content of something like Baby Einstein and traditional educational television programs like “Sesame Street” and “Blue's Clues”?
FZ: Shows that are educational have a specific educational agenda. In other words, they have learning objectives for every segment of the show. “Sesame Street,” for example, if they decide that a particular segment should teach the child the letter J, they’ll design it from the ground up with that learning objective in mind. Then they’ll test it with real children to see if they really do in fact learn to recognize the letter J. And if it doesn’t work, they’ll trash that segment and start again. Baby videos claim to be educational but they don’t go through that process—they don’t develop learning objectives and they don’t go through rigorous testing.
. . .
NEWSWEEK: What would you like to see in terms of regulations or changes in advertising for these DVDs?
FZ: The contribution of this study is to serve as a wake-up call to the marketers of these products—to say, “Hey we don’t see any benefit here and we see some evidence of possible harm.” But I don’t want to oversell that—I don’t want to panic anyone. Still, parents should definitely know that marketers can make any claim they want. You can produce a video in your basement and tell people that anyone who watches it will definitely turn into Mozart—and no one will stop you from saying that. And those claims are effective. At the population level, about a third of parents have bought into those claims. So parents should just realize that people are making a lot of money off this.
Labels: society
posted by Danielle @ 10:00 PM
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