Baby Einstein   

I use to babysit some boys that loved Baby Einstein. Their dad bought a set of the dvd's for my house so they could watch them here and at home. There is something about them that the kids love, and yes, it does give us time to catch up on some work.

I do not like baby Einstein at all. It is not an appropriate way to teach children concepts such as letters, numbers and colors. They are targeted toward infants, who shouldn't be watching TV at all, especially not as a babysitter. When my son was an infant, I did housework by bringing him from room to room with me, and that was educational for him, as well as stimulating because of the interaction. Now, at 2 1/2 he still helps me. He helps with laundry, putting toys away, setting and clearing the table, all sorts of things. And as we do the chores, we talk about things like size, shape and color. We sort things into different categories, we count things.

He is doing very well with learning all of the basic academic concepts and has never watched an 'educational' video, and I never sit down with him and do lessons or use flash cards or any of those types of things. His toys are a variety of books, puzzles, blocks and other open ended toys that allow him to explore and be creative. This is the more developmentally appropriate way of teaching young children. They learn best by doing. These are the types of materials I would recommend trying with your daughter. Give her the chance to interact, be creative, pretend and explore, and she will learn all of the concepts those videos claim to teach.