Post: Do DVDs Make for a Brainy Baby or Baby Einstein?
Do DVDs Make for a Brainy Baby or Baby Einstein?
The debate about the effects of "educational" DVDs on infants and toddlers continues...
The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood has filed a law suit against the makers of the popular "Brainy Baby" and "Baby Einstein" video series, saying the companies make unfounded claims about the positive effects of the shows. The makers of the DVDs say the products inspire logical thinking and language skills in kids under the age of 2, in addition to other brain boosting benefits. Those are claims that a recent report from the Kaiser Family Foundation took issue with, and that the CCFC seems to think are criminally misleading.
From a story in today's Washington Post (which you can read in full here):
"The [CCFC] said the claims are deceptive, since there is no proof that these increasingly popular videos are beneficial and educational. In fact, it said, "research shows that television viewing is potentially harmful for infants and toddlers," because it could adversely affect cognitive development if it replaces creative play and interaction with a child's parents and surroundings."
The CCFC, you may recall, also filed suit against Nickelodeon a few months ago for their practice of airing ads for junk food during children's programming. (You can read CCFC co-founder Dr. Susan Linn's Common Sense Blog post on that suit here).