Infant DVDs won't mould a baby Einstein
Janice Tibbets
CanWest News Service
March 1, 2008
Baby Einstein, makers of popular DVDs for infants as
young as three months, has stopped billing its videos as
educational, following a formal complaint from a U.S.
advocacy group that the Disney-owned company was making
"false and deceptive" claims that it can give babies a
leg up in learning.
The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood is claiming
victory after Baby Einstein quietly changed its website
to remove assertions that its eye-catching array of
colourful videos can help develop cognitive skills in
the very young.
Gone are promotional claims that the DVD's such as Baby
Wordsworth "fosters the development of your toddler's
speech and language skills" and Numbers Nursery will
"help develop your baby's understanding of what numbers
mean."
"We're really happy that the changes have been made
because this means this deception of parents is not
going to continue," said Josh Golin, a spokesman for the
Boston-based advocacy group, which filed a complaint
almost two years ago with the Federal Trade Commission.
The name Einstein itself is synonymous with "genius" -
suggesting that the DVD's will help make babies smart,
charged Golin.
The commission ruled in December that it would not take
any enforcement action against Baby Einstein, under
consumer protection laws, in light of changes the
company had made to descriptions of its DVDs and a
promise that it would "take appropriate steps to ensure
that any future claims of educational and/or
developmental benefit for children was adequately
substantiated."
Baby Einstein, which makes 26 DVDs for babies and
toddlers aged three months to three years, dominates the
booming baby-video industry.
The American Academy of Pediatrics, however, recommends
"no screen time" at all for children under two. In a
letter supporting the complaint to the trade commission,
the academy said that there is no evidence to prove that
videos help baby or toddler development.
Researchers at the University of Washington and Seattle
Children's Hospital went even further last summer in a
study that concluded videos can be harmful for children
under 16 months or younger and that they have no effect,
positive or negative, on the vocabularies of toddlers
aged 17 to 24 months.
The Canadian Paediatric Society is silent on TV for
babies under age two, but it recommends limiting it to
one hour a day or less for preschoolers.
A Baby Einstein spokeswoman said in an e-mail that a
redesign of the company's website, launched two weeks
ago, was not in response to the Federal Trade Commission
complaint.
But the e-mail noted that the company made earlier
"voluntary modifications" to "clarify what Baby Einstein
is all about, which is to provide parents with simple
tools they can use with their babies to inspire
meaningful moments of discovery and interaction
together."
Hillel Goelman, a professor of Early Childhood Education
at University of British Columbia, said the reality is
that many parents rely on TV and videos as a "surrogate
parent" rather than making it an interactive activity by
watching alongside their children.
"What kids need is direct interaction with other people
and putting them in a passive role at a very young age
is not that helpful," said Goelman, who advocates no TV
or videos for children until age three.