Okay, first, a disclaimer. I am not hereby trying to knock Baby Einstein. Got it? In fact, maybe I’ll buy something from them sometime . . . who knows?
Having said that, I think it’s interesting to hear of parents who feel that their babies will have an intellectual advantage in life because of using Baby Einstein’s toys and videos.
I can only imagine what Einstein himself, born in 1879, had to “play with” growing up. Probably nothing too colorful or exciting. And then I think of all those kids in the 18th century who knew Latin, and five other languages, by the time they were 12. Their moms probably put them out to “play” on a plain, brown blanket with nothing to look at but drab gray curtains and an ugly dog. But here is an example of a Baby Einstein toy: The Discovering Water Activity Gym. It comes complete with a musical aquarium with swimming ocean animals, dancing lights, accessory toys, animal peek-a-boo flaps, plastic discovery cards, etc. Could it be that our kids today are too over-stimulated? Could it be that they have so many noise-making, light-shining, colorful toys in their lives (not to mention the T.V.) that they have less room for creativity than in past centuries?
Honestly, I have NO idea about this. I’m just “thinking out loud” right now. (That’s what blogs are for, right?)
After perusing the Baby Einstein website a bit further, though, there do seem to be some interesting books and videos on teaching the humanities to your kids at young ages. I’ll have to see if I can check some of this stuff out at the library. Anyone have any opinions? Any “normal” parents out there who think their child has been greatly helped, educated, enlightened, turned-into-a-better-citizen because of Baby Einstein?
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The only thing I know about Baby Einstein is that my 3 year old brother in law, Asa, was not impressed by them when he was younger. He was, however, very enamored by the Wiggles.
Nathan will kill me for saying this, but apparently he too became enamored by the Wiggles by singing and dancing along with Asa. How do I know? Because every once in a while I’ll catch him singing a Wiggles song around the house. . . .
I have been amazed at Ben's need for toys. I used to wonder why people had so many toys--their houses were cluttered and I thought their kids would be satisfied with much, much less. I have learned that while Ben can sit and look at books for awhile, his play is his work and he is always seeking a new challenge. However, it might just as easily be found with the empty parsley flake container or Dad's cell phone as a Baby Einstein toy. He is a fan of their books however. And one thing I have learned is to make less toys accessible to him at one time and rotate them. He gets bored of a whole basket full of toys at about the same rate as 3 or 4 age-appropriate toys. If I rotate, we have less mess and don't need as many.
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