Let me start by saying that we don't have television. We do watch movies with our kids, but we have not had a television subscription the whole time we have been raising children. Nearly 19 years now. There was that one time we signed up so my husband could watch the world cup in the comfort of his own home, but we couldn't wait for that 18 month subscription to be over. Just too much noise! Too much monitoring. Too much fear mongering. Give me my rose colored glasses and get the glowing box out of my house!
At Toy Fair I met a really nice woman who worked at Brainy Baby. She was very excited because a new study was just published that shows that Brainy Baby DVD's help toddlers learn and remember. This was huge for them because the whole industry had been given a black eye by an earlier study that stated the opposite about the Baby Einstein series. I smiled and nodded as she told me how great the findings were, how the products of the company revolutionized early learning. I truly sympathized with the difficult position their company must be in since that Baby Einsteins study seemed to be everywhere. But, nice as she is, I just don't buy it. I mean, I believe that the DVD's do teach children. I've not met a child yet who isn't learning constantly. I just don't believe that putting your child in front of a screen is optimal. I believe in snuggling them on your lap with a book that contains the information you want them to learn, looking at pictures, pointing to them, saying the names. I believe that crawling on the floor playing with good open ended toys will teach them so much more, build a bonded relationship between parent and child, and mellow everyone out. The flashing lights, sounds, and images on a television screen may hold a child's attention, but so will a war scene. Doesn't mean that level of stimulation is appropriate. I'm still thinking this one through, because I know all about the multiple demands on a parents time, and being able to farm some of the basics off on a machine is tantalizing. At first take though, I feel like it's just lazy parenting. We don't have kids to plop them in front of a screen. We have them to share with, to play with, to build relationships with. I think I'd rather have a not so brainy baby who felt good in their own skin and bonded to the people they love.
