My thoughts on…the stupidity of “Baby Einstein”
August 16th 2007 -
*knocks on monitor* Hey you. Do you have a toddler? If you do, chances are you have a Baby Einstein DVD, and you probably stuff it down his/her throat, making them watch it day in and day out in the hopes that your little rugrat will become all that you failed to be, right? Well if you do, you may be turning your kid into Homer. Not the great Greek poet. Homer Simpson. A study by The University of Washington revealed that for every hour a day that babies 8 to 16 months old were shown “Brainy Baby” or “Baby Einstein,” they knew six to eight fewer words than other children.
Really? Teaching your kid to sit on his/her fat ass watching TV from an early age makes them stupider? Who’da thunk it? I always suspected that Baby Einstein was overrated, but I didn’t know it was this bad. Understandably, Disney, owner of Baby Einstein, is not pleased, and wanted the release retracted. Thankfully the President of the University had the balls to stand up to Mickey’s minions.
And guess what? It was found that children whose parents read to them or told them stories had larger vocabularies, and parental involvement was important to childhood development. So don’t think that there are shortcuts to raising a brilliant kid. My mom taught me spelling and math from an early age with a blackboard, a couple sticks of chalk, and a firm hand. And I think I came out pretty well, don’t you think? But despite this evidence, I know Baby Einstein won’t be harshly affected, as Americans have an insatiable hunger for convenience, which seemingly extends to the upbringing of children. Sad. If America is already such a stupid country, then I shudder to think of what the Baby Einstein generation will be like.
marangand Says:
August 17th, 2007 at 9:54 am
Yes, Leon….You did turn out well!!! Well i had two kids and no, i never own a baby Einstein dvd….I try my very best to lessen the many hours of sitting before a tv/computer, but it is hard….plus all the games etc that they have access to…i remember the good old days of reading Nancy Drews and Hardy Boys as a kid….even Archie comics…I cant even get my son to read an Archie comic…..SIGH!! I also dread the next generation!!!
marangand Says:
August 17th, 2007 at 10:46 am
BTW, NOT sure i am likeing your new colours…but i guess it will grow on me!
Campfyah Says:
August 17th, 2007 at 12:54 pm
like the new look. Re baby Einstein…well somebody gotta find a way tuh rob fools
Cranky Putz Says:
August 17th, 2007 at 3:22 pm
Need to get used to the layout of the blog…took me a few minutes to comment…
Your very right about Laziness….shown by how many kids are allowed to watch more than 2 hours of tv…
jdid Says:
August 17th, 2007 at 4:47 pm
didnt buy them but own them nevertheless. when my wife was pregnant folk kept telling me how great they were and how we’d use them so much and how helpful they were.
turns out we’ve put them in maybe a total of 4 or 5 times and the youut has completely ignored them. to be honest i once watched oen and couldnt for tehe life of m figure out how they were supposedto make you smarter. just seemed like total brainwashing to me.
now i just need them to debunk the myth that your baby has to listen to classical music to be smart or rather develop its brain pathways. i cant believe they push that totally racist and eurocentric belief at you still in this day and age.
mind you someone explained the tests used to come up to that theory to us once without realizing we’d be critical about it. they claimed that babies were tested by giving a certain set an hour of classical vs 1/2 hr of rock a day. now come on man how is this even a valid test, you’re listening to twice as much classical music hellO!! how is this scientific.
bobby Says:
August 17th, 2007 at 5:32 pm
Hey look at this way we are saying the same things our parents said then …(peter pan told me to tell you guys).. it is evolution in some sort of way just have to manage it.
Leon this reminds of a BMW i got a chance to drive in looked nice but just didn’t have a clue on what was whgat took a while just gettting it to start.
Matthew Says:
August 17th, 2007 at 10:39 pm
Nice blog Gangsta..
Get ready for the new generation that spends more time on the internet than on tv!
Stunner Says:
August 18th, 2007 at 3:11 pm
You certainly move up Leon! Own domain name, cool nuh man!
TV is a helpful tool, but nothing substitutes for a parent lovingly teaching his/her child!
Aymz Says:
September 7th, 2007 at 11:01 pm
Wow I totally agree with you. I have to write an essay on this stuff and you’ve changed everything I already read and made it interesting. Thanks.