Sad State

I had an urgent e-mail from an acquaintance regarding the refunding to parents for the Disney's - Baby Einstein Video Series. The Champaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood has been a long battle with the Disney Company for promoting their videos as a way to increase your babies intelligence and brain activity.

Come on parents... REALLY?? Did people honestly believe that plopping your child in front of the TV and watching a video could increase intelligence?

I am not an "no TV for children" activist. I have found memories of the TV shows I watched as a child... The Fragals, Mr. Rogers, Sesame Street. My husband and I have a long standing love for Daniel Striped Tiger from the Land of Make Believe.

Alas, though much superior in content and educational relativity - even our great shows were not a route to a full ride scholarship at MIT. TV was and still is a treat. An hour treat for me to unwind after school and an hour for my very grateful mother - so she could get somethings done around the house.

I find it sad that parents felt mislead - and believed they were being sold something that would make their children smarter. I feel even more sad that children had to go through the "experiment" to find out that hours of TV in place of human interaction and play will cause slower brain growth and mental activity.

I am also very confident that the majority of the babies who have watched a video or two while mom was loading the laundry or making dinner are no worse for wear.

It does look like parents a can get their $14.99 per video back as a refund. Maybe they should get a a set of books, or tickets to the zoo or aquarium instead of cash. That would be better damage control.