With titles like “Baby Mozart,” “Baby Galileo” and “Baby Shakespeare,” these videos are clearly must-haves. What right-minded parent would deny her little drooler the “Baby Socrates” DVD?

The promotional materials make it clear: These videos are interactive, they stimulate development, they’re enriching and, most of all, they’re award-winning.

But do they really have any educational value?

No, says University of Colorado pediatrics professor Edward Goldson.

“They probably feed into parental needs to somehow enhance the child’s development,” he told News reporter Rachel Brand this week. “Personally, I wouldn’t purchase them, and I wouldn’t put my child in front of them.”

Boston-based Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood agrees with Goldson. The group recently asked the federal government to force the makers of Baby Einstein and Brainy Baby to quit implying that their products make babies smarter.

But the head of Brainy Baby told the News his company makes no unreasonable claims. “We suggest parents use our videos in a balanced approach, as they would any learning tool,” said Dennis Fedoruk…

Anderson Walker, who teaches writing at Metropolitan State College of Denver, cites numerous studies and parenting experts who say that (1) babies clearly learn best by interacting with humans (2) exposing babies to foreign languages via video and hoping they’ll absorb anything is probably waste of time and (3) TV- and video-watching by babies under 2 has been linked to attention problems later in life…

Everything I’ve read says simple toys, like blocks, and one-on-one interaction with caregivers, whether it’s going to the grocery store or reading aloud, is still the best way to invigorate your baby’s brain.

Source: The Rocky Mountain News
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