Why Baby Einstein Is Bad

Baby Dunce

A perfection of means, and confusion of aims, seems to be our main problem.
Albert Einstein

      Over four million children are born in the United States each year.   These children are born into a fast-paced culture intertwined in high-tech electronics and an abundance of media outlets.   They will be raised in a world where it is not only acceptable, but incredibly common for a household to partake in seven hours of TV a day (Costa); a world where “one third of 3- to 6- year olds have a TV in their bedroom” (Kuchment).   The rapidly increasing acceptance and use of TVs and computers in every-day routines, leads many concerned parents to wonder what the impacts will be on today’s children.   The Baby Einstein Company, an affiliate of Walt Disney, responded to parents’ concerns in 1996 by creating videos that encourage children’s intellectual and functional development.   These videos are geared toward infants as young as 3 months old and aim to create a positive learning environment and a window for interaction between parent and child.
      The Conception
      Baby Einstein was designed by Julie Clark, an apprehensive new mother with an “intent to create products that offered interactive experiences” for parents and children to share in together (Welcome to Baby Einstein).   This intent identified well with many of the nations’ parents reflecting multi-million-dollar revenue within just a couple years of development (Khermouch).   Following this lead, many other companies have jumped into the children’s developmental video arena in the past ten years, making it a rapidly growing market.
Due to the hefty increase in infant and toddler video sales in the past few years, I immediately wonder why children even need them.   Do children who watch these videos really become “geniuses” or even have a head start over children who are raised less-modernly, with only books and “patty-cake” hand games?   Much dispute and discussion has, and currently...