Comments on: disney defends baby einstein against u.w. researchers

By: dw

dw — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 13:38:40 +0000

I interviewed Christakis and Zimmerman last year about their earlier studies. They’ve done a lot more work than just surveys. All of it suggests that children under 2 shouldn’t be watching TV.

Are the Baby Einstein videos harmful? Probably not. But they aren’t helpful, either. The press doesn’t get science reporting, anyway.

You should pick up their book. It’s quite eye-opening.

By: Anne-Marie

Anne-Marie — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 07:42:00 +0000

Disney DOES have a point. The press release reported OPINION not the facts and conclusions reached in the study, which you can read at - http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/161/5/473. The study did not appear in the Journal of Pediatrics but the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine back in May 2007. And it didn't conclude that watching TV (with or without the parents) affected baby's language development. However, that's the opinion (not backed by research) of Dr. Dimitri A. Christakis, who also believes watching TV causes ADD/ADHD. This is more a case of lazy journalism and the press's love of hysterical headlines that freak out parents more than anything. (I posted about this at http://mamarant.blogs.com/a_mamas_rant/2007/08/the-real-scoop-.html if you'd like links to the interviews, studies, etc.)

By: SJ

SJ — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 17:20:46 +0000

That’s messed up. Anything to make a buck. I don’t know if it’s related to this, but I read not to long ago that infants acquire language way faster when someone is actually speaking to them. Something about the real lifeness and 3-D-ness.

Sometimes I miss having a TV, but I feel better about it when I see my little jerks heading for the bookshelf.