The Walt Disney Company is offering refunds to parents of babies whose I.Q. did not increase after watching Baby Einstein DVDs purchased between June 5, 2004 and September 5, 2009.
According to The New York Times, the videos were marketed as educational infant products, but in reality, they function as little more than electronic babysitters. Disney purchased the Baby Einstein line of educational videos for infants in 2001. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children should not watch television or videos until they reach the age of two.
In order to stave off a class-action lawsuit for "unfair and deceptive practices," Disney has agreed to refund the original purchase price (up to $15.99) for up to four Baby Einstein DVDs per household.
The New York Times reports that approximately one third of all American families with babies age six months to two years owned at least one video. The series features bright colors, music, puppets, and few words. Children quickly outgrow the Baby Einstein videos and move on to Elmo, Barney, Thomas the Tank Engine, and the Teletubbies.
Disney's refund should serve as a reminder for parents that infant video entertainment is a poor substitute for parent-child interaction, conversation, and reading.
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Comments
the funny thing about this is that few people will have tested their infants IQ before and after viewing the videos, so Disney won`t owe many people a refund. Baby Einstein videos are not a substitute for parenting, but they were useful to me at times when I just needed to take a shower and I had the choice of leaving a baby wait unhappily, or with some safe images, music and words. She learned about "wheat" because of this program, and she always recognizes it when we pass a field. Used in the right way, I still think it is OK to watch the DVDs.
Yeah no kidding. Who ever thought they would actually have a genius child created by watching tv. On the other hand. They were a great way to calm down our baby, and a good babysitter for when I needed to do something around the house.
Hard work pays off tomorrow, but lazy pays off right away! But seriously, it is terrible the way that this company has preyed upon exhausted parents looking for an easy way to care for their babies. When it seems too good to be true, it usually is.
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