Baby Einstein DVD

[Beach Mama]

I bought one from ebay and it was a saviour at night during witching hour when she was younger. As far as the studies that have come out about it, I don't think that they are any worse than any other TV in general and as such should be used sensibly. If you use it every few days and it isn't the sole interaction or "education" that your child has, I don't see any problem with it. On the other had, some people use TV and dvd's like this as their child's sole education and education, and that is where problems occur I guess!
Use your own discretion hun, but every now and then IMO Ithink they are great! Better than the Dr Phil she cops an earful of when Im having a lazy couch day!

[KatieRabbit]

Just to add my piece...
TV/videos/DVDs are often not recommend for children under the age of two due to the effect the quick colourful movements have on children's brain development. Their brains do not work at the speed that images flash and move on the screens causing issues/problems. It is not necessarily the content that is harmful but the movement on screen.

From a website.....
A study from the American Academy of Pediatrics shows that watching videos as a toddler may lead to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD, also called ADD in UK) in later life.

TV watching "rewires" an infant’s brain, says Dr. Dimitri A. Christakis lead researcher and director of the Child Health Institute at Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center, Seattle, Wash. The damage shows up at age 7 when children have difficulty paying attention in school.

"In contrast to the way real life unfolds and is experienced by young children, the pace of TV is greatly sped up." says Christakis. His research appears in the April 2004 issue of Pediatrics. Quick scene shifts of video images become "normal," to a baby "when in fact, it’s decidedly not normal or natural." Christakis says. Exposing a baby’s developing brain to videos may overstimulate it, causing permanent changes in developing neural pathways.

"Also in question is whether the insistent noise of television in the home may interfere with the development of ‘inner speech’ by which a child learns to think through problems and plans and restrain impulsive responding," wrote Jane Healy, psychologist and child brain expert in the magazine’s commentary.

Babies brains grow rapidly

Even a child playing with its own fingers has the neural patterning that comes from bending, flexing, stretching and grasping. Scientists tell us that the brain develops in completely unique ways between birth and three years. As a kiddie viddie baby sits "mesmerized", neural paths are not being created. This is crucial brain development that stops by age three.

"You don’t want to think that something as innocent as half-an-hour’s peace and quiet could reduce your kid’s chances later in life," says Claire Eaton, 27-year-old mother from Lewisham, Australia.

I am just putting the other side forward, not for anyone to take personally as any sort of criticism. I firmly believe in parents doing what they want and think is right for their own child.

[~Belinda~]

Wow Deidre that's interesting...

[Emma1979]

ive heard about that before... it IS interesting and plausible... i guess its about balance though...

what i'm curious about is, how they know in the study that kids at age 7 that have the ADHD - im curious how they KNOW it came from watching videos when they were little, and not from something like food additives in the foods they ate - IYKWIM... i'm not discounting the findings from the study, purely interested in how they get to a conclusion - in any study - and rule out so many other things that may have contributed or caused an outcome.

that said in the middle of the night when she's up teething or sick with a cold, i would be lost without her dvd's, it calms her and distracts her from how she's feeling, she stops crying and even manages a chuckle... and i get a cuddle and don't have to walk the hallway!!

[~Belinda~]

Emma, interesting point regarding food additives...I really am going to try to be careful with what Madeleine eats when she is older, I saw something on the news tonight about preservatives and food additives for kids. My DP's nephew comes over sometimes for a visit and he is 4. He is fine and then his mother will give him Fanta or something and you could put money on how many times he turns into EVIL child after he drinks it....!

[Emma1979]

there are even additives in dried fruits, breads, cereals, all sorts of things you would deem as a healthy snack, it is amazing... you really have to learn to look out for the additive numbers and buy products that don't have them...

i carry the cut out from this webpage around in my purse, it tells you the additives to avoid..

Hip Hop

some of the additives are actually BANNED in other countries. its quite disgusting the nasties they put into foods and then market them to kids, for example those heinz kids fruit bars from 1-3 year olds contain sulphur dioxide....

anyways slight hijack, sorry.... i just think its worrying when you think you're giving your kids something healthy and then find out its not healthy at all, or worse, you don't find out!! i used to give dried apricots nearly every day, and then read this:

"a single dried apricot can contain sixteen milligrams of preservative - more than a six year old child should consume in a day."

[~Belinda~]

That's great, thanks so much for that information, it's better I know now IYKWIM!