Does video-watching = genius?

Seems the Disney folks who produce the incredibly popular video series, Baby Einstein, are giving refunds for the videos because they do not - I repeat, do NOT - turn your babies into geniuses simply by watching them. Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood has been fighting the video-babysitter industry for years and got to the brink of a class-action lawsuit before Disney caved to the refund idea.

OK, here's this Baby Boomer's take on all this. The whole Baby Einstein-stuff is just silly. So are all those programs trying to teach a 3-month old to read. C'mon, parents. Do you really want tiny kids to be smarter than you? No, you do not. (And you certainly don't want your teenager to be smarter than you, but there's no real danger of that, unless you're trying to relive your youth at the same time. But I digress.)

However, I'm not sure I buy into the whole "no commercials, no television, no pop-culture" push, either. My own dear child was raised on lots of Disney videos - Mary Poppins, Sleeping Beauty, Pinocchio, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, and on and on. Often times a parent does need a video- babysitter, whether just running to the bathroom or fixing dinner, and who better than Julie Andrews, Jiminy Cricket, Flora & Fauna, and Angela Lansbury to entertain your tot? Comedy, drama, color, music, and life-lessons - with no over-arching goal of making the viewer into someone who can invent a great way to destroy mankind.

And have you ever met one of those no-TV kids as an adult? Completely clueless as to pop-references in literature, newspapers, and daily conversation with peers. Kinda creepy.

Here's the thing. There's nothing wrong with great entertainment, which usually teaches more than anything pointedly "educational." The real bonus is that the good stuff, the classic stuff, captures the parent as well as the child. I will gladly snuggle next to my little one to watch and laugh and sing and explain Meet Me In St. Louis or Worst Witch, something I'd never do with a Baby Einstein video. Oooh, yes. I'm talking parental-engagement here. Good parenting does take constant presence, explanation, and cuddling with children.

So those of you with stacks of Baby Einstein videos, pack 'em up and send 'em back to Disney for a refund. And remember. The real Baby Einstein didn't watch videos to become Big Guy Einstein.

Baby-Mama at 22 weeks

Has parental sanity hit the skids? Nursery rhymes are GOOD for kids.

This Mary is quite contrary after reading that a goodly number of parents in Britain find nursery rhymes too old fashioned to share with their children. What?!

Granted, losing sheep, falling asleep under haystacks, and tumbling down hills after fetching buckets of water aren't experiences our internet, video game-playing kids can readily relate to. Still, must we sacrifice time-honored verbal rhyming skills and pure imagination to the reality hip-hop gods?

Mother Goose rhymes can be read, said, or sung from the time you first hold your dear little one. The rhythms and verbal patterns are soothing, however "disturbing" the subject matter. As children grow, those rhymes serve as little mini-stories, giving a child the opportunity to use imagination to fill in the gaps or change the endings.

Many complain that nursery rhymes and fairy tales are too dark and disturbing. Well, phooey. I wonder how many children actually find it scary that Humpty Dumpty couldn't be put back together or that Jack broke his crown? I remember finding those things hilariously funny as a child. I mean, we're talking about a giant egg here, people. And kids fall down (or slip on banana peels) all the time. Physical humor. I especially loved the blackbirds that snipped off the maid's nose. Ha!

I do hope the statistics don't reflect reality here in the United States. As crazy as they are, these rhymes and fairy tales are part of our heritage, connecting one generation of parents with another. They are woven into a common cultural knowledge that transcends age and generation. Fortunately, folks in the know about language and culture fully support the world of Mother Goose.

As long as I'm around, my grandchildren will have nursery rhymes and fairy tales poured into their little ears. Consider it a gift from one generation to the next, stretching back over time as it moves forward.

Yes, contrary this Mary may be. But I also have a garden full of silver bells and cockle shells. Oh! And pretty maids all in a row!

October Sonogram

And proof we have a little boy on the way!

(Sorry so blurry. I'll scan them at work and post clearer shots later.)