I read an interesting article via a recent Bump.com post regarding Baby Einstein products and Disney's decision to begin compensating parents and other individuals who bought the products and didn't see an increase in their child's intelligence. Now I will openly admit that I have NEVER so much as glanced at a Baby Einstein product, much less pull out my hard earned money to buy something so I don't know much about the "claims" that are/were made by Disney (who now owns the Baby Einstein brand) regarding what the benefits are for watching or playing with the toys, DVDs, etc.
However, as a parent I don't much go by the insistence of others when it comes to them "telling" me how much smarter my child will become if they watch that particular DVD or read a particular book/story or play with a particular toy. I would like to think that the only thing that is happening is that consumers are, not necessarily brainwashed, but are led to believe that these products are extremely beneficial to their children and so they part with their hard earned money in the hopes that they themselves will in fact have an "Einstein" on their hands.
I'm not sure if I entirely believe that the Baby Einstein brand purposely made false claims as to how effective the products were, but again I've never really looked at those items before so I can't be completely objective about it. I know that personally, I wouldn't think that a DVD or a particular toy would increase my daughter or son's IQ. The bottom line is that we, as parents, only want what's in the best interest of our children. It's a shame that some companies prey on that desire to make a fast buck.
No comments:
Post a Comment