For those of us that rely on it...

So, the Baby Einstein discussion... yeah, I've seen the reports. You can read more here. Here's another one. I hope to find more links soon, as they just barely got finished interviewing the creator, Julie Aigner-Clark.

Okay, so now that you've read these articles. What is your take on it? Everything in moderation is what I say. These videos are 20 minutes or less, so to have your babe watching an "hour or more a day" seems excessive. Not to say I haven't done this, but it's very rare when I do. Maybe Disney should think about taking the "repeat" option off the DVD menu, so the child is more apt to only watch it once per sitting.

Another thing... I don't think Mrs. Aigner-Clark created these videos to babysit our children. The first few of the 20 videos that I watched, I said to myself, these are just digital board books... MEANT to be watched WITH your child. So you can verbally identify each object that comes onto the screen. And in most cases, we've done this.

As sad as these reports are, I am not going to stop letting Liam watch these videos, or TV for that matter. If I am desperate, he will be placed in front of the DVD player. Speech delays or not, I am willing to make that sacrifice so I can provide a paycheck for my family. I work from home week day mornings... there aren't a lot of options when your kid WILL NOT play by himself. We are making progress with steering clear of the television though. This P.E.R.C. program has helped tons! Liam actually has toys that interest him... new ones every week. So I am grateful that my mornings are ridden with less guilt. Because we've all heard that TV before the age of 2 is frowned upon.

Anyway, please discuss. I would love to hear your take on this TV issue that "stunts" toddler growth.

14 comments:

Katie said...

We all do what works best for our families. We didn't own a television until after our twins were two, and that worked really well for us, but my most pressing deadling was pumping before my chest exploded. I have never even seen a BE video, but from what I gather, they aren't teaching anything that a parent couldn't teach, but they are offering a few child-free minutes for parents to get stuff done. I'm amazed that little children are watching feature length movies at such a young age. My boys can handle about twenty minutes of Scooby Doo, then they've got to run around and hammer something.

D said...

I need to read the articles and I agree with you- everything in moderation. But I will say about the BE signing videos- My son started saying words after seeing those videos- with the accompanying sign. Developmentally it was about the right time for him to say those words but watching the videos with him helped him to really get it. I didn't know the signs before I watched the video with him so he didn't get it from me. I will say that I am guilty of putting a movie on for him now and then. I don't expect him to sit and watch it and he doesn't. He plays with his toys and watches it occasionally. It's more like music in the background and it seems to keep him happy playing by himself a little longer. I need to just play music instead- though.

Tori :) said...

I can barely get Livie to sit thru an entire Signing Time video- unless she's really tired. So, I don't know how such young kiddos sit thru long movies. They've been trained from a very young age, I guess.

utmommy said...

I've never seen any of these videos. Lately my kids have been watching WAY too much T.V. I finally got tired of it and told them no more. To my pleasant surprise they are getting along better and keeping themselves busy.

I have used the t.v. as a babysitter before. But, I try not to. Sometimes it's very convenient. I don't know if t.v. stunts a toddlers growth or not. I know when my kids have had too much and just need to do something else. I guess each situation is different.

utmommy said...

I hope I made sense in my previous comment, there was a lot of rambling. Sorry about that.

Terry said...

No doubt too much t.v. is bad. I am very guilty of letting my kids watch too much of it.

My girls are just over a year apart and they watch about the same amount of tv. Sadie talks really well, much better than Eliza did at 21 months. I remember making a list of words Eliza said at 21 months. I thought she was coming along very well with her vocabulary. However, I couldn't even begin such a list with Sadie. Sadie speaks clearly in complete sentences. She can communicate pretty complicated ideas in words. Eliza's speech was pretty average, Sadie's is pretty advanced. I don't think the differences have anything to do with how much tv they watched.

That said, I am not trying to be an advocate for tv watching or anything.

tracey.becker1@gmail.com said...

Each child is SO different, how can we compare? And if I watch a BE video with my child for an hour a day, and we discuss it and talk about it and find things like the pictures on tv, is that really what the study is talking about? I doubt it.

Tonight, Corinne(22 months) and I sat and watched Thomas the Tank Engine while playing trains and talking about the colors of each train. Over. And. Over. And guess what? My not-yet 2 year old speaks in sentences, knows several colors and shapes, and is brilliant in so many ways, I can't brag long enough! And the tv is essentially always on in our house. Not intentionally, we just forget to turn it off and the kids will go out to play or up to their room and I will be playing piano and the house is just a loud mess of things to explore. And I think that THIS is what we should be having articles written about. About families that DO spend time together and have fun projects and also have boredom time and watch tv and play outside. Not ripping apart a company that has made so many parents' lives just a bit easier. Plus, having a BE video in the background is soothing, isn't it? I used to love having them on when Justin was a baby. Corinne never gets a chance for those types of shows, as it's more of a democracy vote over here...

David said...

I can see where the trend for short segments "reinforces" tendencies towards "ADD." That said, who cares! If you are limiting what they watch then it won't hurt and if you aren't then it doesn't matter-all kids' shows are ADD between commercials-I mean how much does Caillou skip around? Oh well, I am not too worried. There are worse things in the world.

Ashley said...

I think there are parents who just sit their kids in front of the t.v. for hours and hours. I let my kids watch their favorite shows like Dora, etc. My kids have never showed any signs of delayed development. They like their shows but they actually prefer puzzles, games, and coloring anyway.

Suzanne said...

I wasn't exposed to those videos when my kids were young, but I'm sure they are a wonderful learning tool. If you're sitting there with him, I don't see that as empty t.v. watching.

Oh, and I can't stand how DVDs have the "Play continuously" option. Would someone actually let their DVD loop over and over while their kid sat there for hours on end? Grr!

Jamie said...

I don't know, but I think there are so many other factors that you can't simply label TV as bad.
My daughter watches no TV at all, doesn't care about it and never sits still more than about 30 seconds. And unfortuantely, she seems to be very speech delayed. So who knows. We all do the best we can, right?

Annie said...

Thanks to Baby Einstein, I was able to shower when my kids were toddlers.

Jessica said...

I think that all kids are different. Emerald will have nothing to do with TV...fine with me...but what do I do when I'm trying to make dinner!! I think that a little here and there for my other kids isn't going to hurt them...

Jean Knee said...

My baby screamed a lot, I mean colic x 100. The baby einstein videos were the only things that would calm her down. what? It's better to scream than calm down so we could actually have interactions?