Will the Real Baby Einstein Please Stand Up... Then Go Outside and Play

This week a fellow blogger and twitter friend, Samantha of MamaNotes, wrote a Blog post that received a bit of backlash. I thought the post was on a great, very relevant topic: Television viewing (specifically Baby Einstein viewing) and children. Judging by the comments that Samantha's blog post received, it is clear the debate is rather contentious. I can understand why, people don't like to feel like others are preaching to them or trying to tell them what to do and, in those situation, they can often react very defensively.

I truly feel Samantha's post was intended to be good information from one mom to another and in no way, was meant to offend or upset anyone. I would like to thank her for putting that information about Baby Einstein videos out there. I believe that any information that allows parents to make a more informed decision on their parenting philosophies is very apropos.

Have I ever had Baby Einstein videos in my home... yes I have. I admit it, Disney has an amazing marketing campaign and I was marketed too and bought some used Baby Einstein videos for my first born. Looking back, I am surprised I did that; I have a degree in Psychology and studied Infant and Childhood development heavily in College. I more than most, have a good understanding of the effects of TV watching on small children. I won't go into it thoroughly as it could be boring but, the just of it is that TV watching induces a trace like neurological state similar to a coma. Not a good state for growing and developing little brains.

I think Oskar may have watched two of the Baby Einstein DVDs at about 6 months of age before I made the decision to get rid of them. Why did I make that choice? I allowed my better judgement to prevail over the ridiculous marketing I had fallen prey to. I realized there was nothing those videos could give to my baby or child that I could not. If he was going to learn about shapes and colours, he would learn with me while we read books, played with toys or took nature walks.

My first born is almost 3 years old now and he and his younger brother rarely watch TV. Are there days when the cartoons get turned on? Yes, of course. I would say out of 30 days the cartoons or a video may go on 2-4 times. Cartoons are my absolute last resource because I find they make my 3 YO act weird; after he watches them he often becomes moody and temperamental. If for no other reason, I avoid turning them on because of that.

There are times when I absolutely need to distract both boys, but rather than use TV, I have found music and books on CD to be a better solution. We have a book on CD about Disney's Cars and putting that on is always a sure fire way to distract both boys for about 30 minutes. It is the cutest thing, Oskar gets out his Lightening McQueen car, clears off our oval coffee table and races around and around as he listens to the story and imagines that he apart of it. While he does this, my 6 month old sits in his exersaucer listening and watching in wonderment.

We do enjoy some family TV watching. Hockey is a large part of our household and an afternoon or evening game is sometimes turned on for the whole family to watch. So You Think You Can Dance is also a big hit in our household and as a treat, my 3 YO is sometimes permitted to stay up a little and watch a few dances.

I don't mind that type of TV watching; it tends to elicit physical activity and imaginary play. If Hockey is on, Oskar wants to get his hockey gear on a play with his soft indoor pucks and when dancing is on, he is usually trying to copy the dancers by choreographing his own moves. We have a fun time as a family, laughing and playing; it encourages family interaction not silent, zombie like, TV trances.

Do I hate TV? No, not at all. I love my shows and I love to watch movies; both are a big part of my adult life. I am just not in a hurry to make them a big part of my kids lives. They have so much energy, so much enthusiasm and potential right now. They are capable of so much more than just sitting on the couch watching Dora or Diego on a regular basis. Childhood is fleeting, one day I will mention Playdoh and will be met with an annoyed and critical gaze. I think I will take advantage of the excitement while I can. Plus... Diego is just plain annoying.