Comments on: Refunds: Baby Einstein DVDs

By: AJ

AJ — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 05:30:01 +0000

What new parents were or were not thinking the DVDs would do is beside the point. The term “educational” is not the same as “fun.” It conveys a meaning, a claim, that was apparently not supported by research. Worse, independent research indicates the DVDs could negatively impact vocabulary. I support at least a basic level of truth in advertising.

By: JenRae

JenRae — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:23:03 +0000

my friend swears by the one that teaches sign language, and is there one with another language? I on the other hand thought they were crap. we got one as a gift from my baby shower, and I promptly sold it! :-)

you have to hand it to them though… it was a genius idea to sell sub-par baby toys and dull dvd’s to millions of people just because it has the name “einstein” on it. wish i would have thought of that! haha!!!

By: ericafromamerica

ericafromamerica — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:34:45 +0000

I think anyone who actually expects these videos to passively make their child smarter is a dunce themselves. My family has enjoyed them simply for their stimulation and entertainment power. They have reinforced many concepts I have already exposed my daughter to and have good humor and soothing music which I enjoy. They have also been a GREAT babysitter when I need to get something done around the house. My daughter is verbally advanced (so I’ve been told by every other adult she encounters)so I guess we are some miraculous exception. I’ll decide what is good for my child. Don’t watch TV if that is what you believe to be right for you and yours. We LOVE our Baby Einstein videos (all 24 of them…).

By: Carson Park Ranger

Carson Park Ranger — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 04:05:58 +0000

Whew. I was afraid that I’d be surrounded by a generation of smart young people.
Still, I hope that your children turn out to be smarter than my generation was.

By: My Boaz's Ruth

My Boaz's Ruth — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:32:02 +0000

Yep. AJ reviewed them two years ago and the Beethoven’s Wig is GREAT.

By: Paul

Paul — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 14:16:16 +0000

We tried these enthusiastically with our daughter when she was born but after one or two watchings we all decided it was crap (us & our daughter!). Tried again when our son was born with the same conclusion.

On the other hand I’ve always believed that listening to classical music is great for kids. I don’t know whether it fosters brain development and mathematics but it instills an appreciation of history and classics, sets a foundation for later discussions about what a composer is, and is great naptime music in the car. It seemed to work for our daughter who begged for piano lessons at 4yo, and our son who loves classical but sometimes when I put it on makes the funny comment “Turn it off, I don’t want to fall asleep now!”.

As a great follow-on to getting used to classical, there is the amazing and amazingly funny Beethoven’s Wig series that I think AJ made us wise to. We have them all, and even bought extras for gifts over the past couple of years.

By: Christy

Christy — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 00:55:35 +0000

Here’s my problem. I’ve got tons of the DVDs. My mom got them all for us when my daughter was born in 2005…most are still in the original shrink wrap.

She liked a few of them, but we used them so rarely. And the only times that we did use them were when I needed to get something useful done, like cook dinner.

While I didn’t think that they would make her a genius, I didn’t think that they would stunt her either. She’s 4 now, and clearly un-stunted. (Good lord, is that even a word?)

I’m just wondering what they are going to do with the returned DVDs. Re-package them and sell them again? ;)

By: AJ

AJ — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 22:35:09 +0000

Nonono, don’t be confused by the book/cd/coupon offers. The last option states: “or you may return it, and we will refund the current retail value of the DVD ($15.99).” Disney is offering a full refund based on today’s value, but I’m sure it’d prefer you to choose a less-expensive exchange that keeps you using Baby Einstein products.

By: Joelle

Joelle — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 22:31:09 +0000

It’s not really a refund – it’s an exchange for an Einstein book or DVD. But it’s great that Thingamababy is sharing the news as the less time kids watch screens, the better.

The best refund would be one put towards classic blocks (wood or otherwise) – which research shows is the best toy around.

By: AJ

AJ — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 22:28:59 +0000

Whoops, the link went dead. I’ve updated it. Click the bolded “Baby Einstein’s refund page” link in the article above.

http://www.babyeinstein.com/parentsguide/satisfaction/upgrade_us.aspx