In an article from the New York Times in October, it was announced that Disney is being made to refund Baby Einstein games for not making babies geniuses.
Parents who purchased the popular Baby Media but saw no change in their infant or toddler's cognizance or coordination felt lied to. They must also think that the years of extensive research into early childhood T.V. viewing is a big fat lie.
How dare Disney falsely market a line of DVDs promoting baby intelligence and infantile independence. Disney and corporations like it have been babysitting young children for decades now. But only now do parents feel the detriment, a huge $15.99 hole in their wallets.
Never mind the social awkwardness at age 7 created by electronic babysitting at 9 months, or the lack of confidence and resourcefulness from an infancy of not being held and played with. These parents feel cheated that their babies aren't smarter. The box said Einstein, and Albert E. himself was expected.
While I don't think the global command of Disney is healthy, I think all children should have the opportunity to laugh, eat well and be hugged and played with by adults. Maybe the fact that a product sold their child short will make these parents take their babies to the park or Mac Donald's for some nuggets. Maybe they can even find their favorite childhood Disney movie and pop it in for a good old fashioned movie night.
Either way, Disney isn't losing a dime reimbursing these families and it is a positive PR campaign.
Furthermore, parents have the option to buy a different game in place of the defective one. Maybe a second time around will provide the same benefit as singing to your baby or making them laugh hysterically.
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3 comments:
I agree this is stupid, but I am still always amazed when I see the commercials on TV about teaching babies to read.
This is absolutely ridiculous. Maybe the parents could try teaching their kids instead of relying on technology to do so.
I guess I have to speak on behalf of my 2 and a half year old nephew Aiden who is an avid iPhone and technology user. Though he has never used the Baby Einstein program, he does have other learning applications that help his development in my opinion. However, it is not up to technology alone. Parents must be be able to balance technology power with human interaction. I think it's silly that Disney is asked to payback or exchange the program for customers. Even though it's a smart PR move, parents should not expect technology to do wonders when it comes to childhood development. They are the ones who are ultimately responsible for raising them and teaching them.
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