Baby EiNsteiN bad  

I despise Baby Einstein for a few reasons. First, it, along with any other TV watching, is completely inappropriate for infants. Infants need human interaction, and the opportunity to entertain themselves with minimal stimulation. Too much stimulation early on, and children become dependent on it and are unable to entertain or soothe themselves without it.

Second, Baby Einstein, Leapfrog and similar baby teaching items mislead parents into thinking that babies need to know these concepts such as colors, numbers, shapes and letters. They do not. Babies need to learn things like how to get their thumb into their mouth, how to move the blankie and find Mommy hiding there while playing peekaboo. They need to learn how to sit up, crawl, walk, climb. They need to learn to understand that when Mommy leaves she'll always come right back. They do not have the capacity to understand the meaning of things like letters and numbers.

Third, even if babies did need to learn these concepts at such a young age, videos are not the most efficient way to teach them. Videos do not instill an understanding, they simply help with memorizing. A more appropriate way to teach is through hands-on, meaningful interaction that teaches not just the names of the letters, but the reason behind it- an understanding of the concept.

Finally, watching TV takes time away from the more important skills babies need to learn, and is therefore detrimental to their development. Babies need face time, interaction, as I stated earlier. Lack of interaction with live humans will lead to a delay in the development of social and language skills. Sitting in a seat staying still watching a screen means baby isn't moving around developing gross motor skills such as sitting up and walking.

All in all, these videos do more harm than good, and should be seriously limited if not avoided altogether. Parents can get things done by bringing baby from room to room with them. My son, at 16 months old, was helping me with laundry, putting groceries away, setting the table and putting away toys. It is better for everyone to involve baby rather than using TV as a babysitter.

My opinion is less radical than the previous mylotter.
Yet,I think all those claims about "genius " babies are not appropriate ... an over doese of those videos is NOT a good think for younger brains , overstimulating them will make it ahrder for them to focus later.

However, I do believe that after 1 year old, and yes to get some things done around the house it is a great way to let them watch TV in a "productive" way, it is much better than sittin gthem in front of a tv channel without monitoring what they watch ( even cartoons can be inappropriate depending on their age)
Let's face it we all let them watch tv at some point in their day or wekk, so why not let it be something like those baby einstein or bee smart videos

SO in conclusion, I would say that if correctly used and not abused it is a nice addition to one on one interaction ... even the best mom need a 10 minute break from time to time! NO? .. I know I do ;)