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As I type this, my four-year-old son is explaining that because it's getting dark outside, it's time to fire up the DVR and watch WordWorld, his favorite PBS show. Indeed, on many nights, if I'm grading papers, prepping for class, or just trying to steal a few minutes to focus on my own stuff, he does get to watch WordWorld. While my inner ideal mother feels guilty about plunking him down in front of the boob tube, I also figure there are worse things he could be doing (licking electrical outlets, sniffing glue, watching whatever age-inappropriate movies my husband shows him). After all, he's learning some phonics, so it can't be all bad.
This very reasoning--as well as a savvy marketing campaign that preyed on parental needs, fears, desperation, and desires--led countless parents to set their infants and toddlers in front of the television to watch the saccharine programming that is Baby Einstein. We received one of these DVDs as a gift, and neither I nor my then-two-year-old son ever really got into it, with the exception of one scene where a cow puppet is nearly crushed to death by a hailstorm of apples falling from a tree. The threat of bovicide always made him cackle a bit too joyously.
I can honestly say that I never bought into the marketing efforts of the Walt Disney Company that these videos promoted better brain development in infants and toddlers. Let's get real, people: we're talking about sock puppets on a television screen, so it shouldn't come as a shock that Disney is admitting the videos have no educational benefit. The admission was brought about by a complaint to the Federal Trade Commission by the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, which has also persuaded Disney to offer refunds to parents who purchased the DVDs for their little ones.
How big a business is Baby Einstein? The New York Times reports that "Baby Einstein controlled 90 percent of the baby media market, and sold $200 million worth of products annually." Mull over that for a moment: 90 percent and $200 million. Then consider further: there's a baby media market? Why is there a baby media market, beyond maybe music?
It's because moms and dads and other caregivers are harried, exhausted, and desperate for just a few minutes alone to get housework done, catnap on the couch while baby zones out in front of the TV, or quietly sit in a corner and try not to implode from the stress of new parenthood. And Disney was more than happy to meet this need for a few minutes--or an entire half hour!--of alone time. Best of all, Disney suggested that TV, rather than being the dangerous pastime that the American Academy of Pedatrics makes it out to be, was actually good for your baby's brain.
How bad is TV? Let's take a look at the AAP's warning about toddlers and TV:
It may be tempting to put your infant or toddler in front of the television, especially to watch shows created just for children under age two. But the American Academy of Pediatrics says: Don't do it! These early years are crucial in a child's development. The Academy is concerned about the impact of television programming intended for children younger than age two and how it could affect your child's development. Pediatricians strongly oppose targeted programming, especially when it's used to market toys, games, dolls, unhealthy food and other products to toddlers. Any positive effect of television on infants and toddlers is still open to question, but the benefits of parent-child interactions are proven. Under age two, talking, singing, reading, listening to music or playing are far more important to a child's development than any TV show.
I totally get the temptation to parent with television. My son watches far more television than I'm comfortable with, a fact I'm particularly aware of this week because he was home sick for four days (thanks, H1N1!), and while my husband and I took turns caring for him, both of us still had deadlines to meet and work to get done. Accordingly, the little guy watched a ton of television this week: superhero cartoons, WordWorld, a few movies. And I confess: last night I was so desperate to watch one of my own shows that I turned on Grey's Anatomy even though he was in the room--but I paused the TV and had him hide under his blanket (one of his favorite games) whenever things promised to get bloody.
Then again, I think
