Baby Einstein DVD

[KatieRabbit]

Sulphur dioxide (which incidentally is in dried apricots) brings on asthma attacks in my sister! There is a great book called Additive Alert- Your guide to safer shopping by Julie Eady (I just call it the Yellow Book) which is great for food additive info- easy to read and to pick up as a quick reference.

Emma, on a general note (not necessarily TV related) check that any research that you read is published in peer-reviewed journals. These are guaranteed to be proper studies and research, often generated by universities and academics. Such studies need to take reliability and validity into account in their research. That means that the study must accurately reflect the concept being measured and that the way that the research is carried out and analysed is accurate and can be repeated by others with the same results. In short, that means that no guessing or assuming is done. The hypothesis has to be proven or disproven.
A bit heavy for this time of night, but interesting....

[Ezz]

I have heard similar research to Deidre. I am a Primary School Teacher (have taught K-2 the past 3 years) & I went to a conference about teaching "struggling" readers. The presenter was citing research about how detrimental television is in children under 2 for future learning/reading.

[~Belinda~]

Madeleine will sit on our laps some nights and watch some TV with us, not long though! Should I be worried and really discourage that do you think???

[Ezz]

I wouldn't worry about what's done - but personally, I would try to avoid letting her watch TV in the future. I try to position DS so he can't see the TV, or just turn it off until he goes to bed.

[~Belinda~]

Thanks everyone!

[paradise lost]

Some observations...

My DD had minimal tv before she was 2 (3 weeks ago). By this i mean that most days she had no tv at all. WHole months would go by with no tv. Occasionally she would get the tv for half an hour, probably 10 or less times in her life. Once or twice when i have been really ill i have put the tv or a kids dvd on for several hours at a time (when i'm too sick to get up/read etc.).

She is very advanced for her age. She speaks in sentences, knows her shapes and colours (including things like telling hexagons from octagons), can count to 20, knows much of the alphabet and can identify all the numbers up to 9 (like knows 8 but would say "one eight" rather than "eighteen"). She recognises about 10 letters of the alphabet and knows the sound they make.

We read and sing a lot together. I wear her in the wrap when i cook and clean and talk her through whatever i'm doing all the time. A german friend came to stay for 2 days this week and she is currently telling me in german that she's filled her nappy!

Now i let her watch tv for half an hour on days we are in the house anyway (3-5 times a week). She has learned about 10 new songs, a bunch of dances and some (about 5 maybe) new words from the tv. BUT she does NOT ask for a book or even necessarily look at me when i call her name if the tv is on. It seems to me to totally absorb her attention in a way that reality doesn't. I can imagine that some of the harm tv does to the minds of kids is by exluding the rest of the world.

I think you can tell by watching your kid how well they cope with tv. I know kids who cannot bear it if the tv is on and kids who have anxiety attacks when you turn it off. It's pretty individual. I do not think there is anything a flat emotionless screen, no matter HOW bright/colourful, can teach your baby than time with it's mother/father/siblings could not teach better, but i also as a single parent appreciate the concept that sometimes 10 minutes of peace can save a whole day.

Bx

[bigbird2girls]

My Mil bought some for the girls and my eldest loves them she laughs and laughs at them and sings along to them as well as dance and makes the animal sounds etc
so to me i feel it is very educational for my girls. Both my girls love them. They are active outdoors girls all day and in the afternoon they can watch a dvd for some chill out time etc.I do mix it up a bit though so some days they watch playschool and others baby einstein but it is only two days a week they get to watch Tv. Otherwise it is flash cards, drawing, pretend play all that kind of stuff.

But my opinion is go and buy some today or tomorrow they are great dvd's.

I am sorry and with all due respect to all of you that have posted in regards to food aditives and adhd etc i don't listen to any of the studies or read any books to say you should not do this you should not do that etc. I use my brain and give the girls what i want to give them so they grow up knowing what is healthy and what is not etc ie - weetbix instead of fruit loops, water instead of fanta etc but i also do not believe in wrapping my kids up in cotton wool their entire life so i go with my motherly instincts and i must say i am a proud mother and love it when people tell you how good your kids are!!!

Jen