DVDs and videos such as “Baby Einstein” and “Brainy Baby” may hinder, rather than help babies acquire language skills, according to a new study published in the Journal of Pediatrics.
The scientists found that for every hour per day spent watching baby DVDs and videos, infants understood an average of six to eight fewer words than infants who did not watch them. Baby DVDs and videos had no positive or negative effect on the vocabularies on toddlers 17 to 24 months of age.
This adds to a growing pile of skepticism about such videos and their educational benefits, despite what President Bush might say. You’ll recall he praised Baby Einstein founder—and Republican National Committee donor—Julie Aigner-Clark during his State of the Union address this past January. He’s hardly one to be the judge of what makes for good verbal skills, methinks.