What's Going On: Are videos making baby Einstein’s or baby Homer Simpsons?

 Like many parents, my wife and I have turned to the electronic babysitter in the living room more times than we would like to admit. 

The television can provide parents 30-minute windows to grab a shower, something to eat or simply enjoy a quiet moment in an effort to regain one’s sanity from the constant grind of raising children. 

But in the case of my wife and I, there is that pang of guilt. Letting your children watch television as a diversionary tactic is kind of like feeding them hot dogs for lunch. 

You know it’s not the best thing for them, but sometimes, quick and easy wins out in the battle of parenting good versus evil. 

With that said, my wife and I always satiated our guilt by being somewhat particular about what was on the television. 

There were only a few non-animated shows that could keep their attention. Obvious ones included Sesame Street and anything with animals. Call of the Wildman, a reality show featuring a backwoods Kentuckian nicknamed “The Turtleman” was more of a surprise.

But generally speaking, it had to be animated to be considered. 

However, we have also been a little particular about cartoons as well and with good reason with the ever growing popularity of adult-themed shows. 

And while the content of most of the children-themed shows would pass the appropriate litmus test, some of the shows were/are simply too annoying. 

Sorry, Spongebob. You simply are not welcome in my home. 

Ever. 

For both children though, their first exposure to television came via a series of videos called Baby Einstein. 

I remember someone gave a half dozen or so to my wife at a baby shower for our first born. I hadn’t heard of them nor had my wife, but whoever gave them to us said they were created by an elementary school teacher and first produced in her basement and were designed to basically make babies smarter.

I believed all of that up to the making babies’ smarter part, despite the inclusion of shapes, bright colors and letters, all set to classical music. But hey, the boy seemed to be entertained and the shows were devoid of violence, sex, bad language and poor manners. 

What I later learned, about the time my daughter started watching them, was a University of Wash-ington study had claimed children who watched the show repeatedly not only failed to get smarter, but actually became dumber. 

Instead of making baby Einstein’s, the show was making baby Homer Simpsons. 

By the time this study was released, the elementary school teacher had sold the company to Disney, which in light of the bad publicity, offered refunds to concerned parents. 

But Baby Einstein’s creator wouldn’t let it go. While battling cancer and concerned about her possible legacy, she along with her husband launched a campaign to discredit the University study. 

They legally wrangled with the professors who conducted the study in an effort to determine and repeat their methodology. 

Finally, after several years of legal wrangling, the University of Washington provided them with the information regarding who and how that study was conducted.

It was replicated by an independent group of researchers who determined the initial study was flawed at best. 

The demographics of those studied suggested there could have been other contributing factors to video-watching children not developing cognitive skills as quickly and that some significant findings were omitted, such as increased vocabulary in older children (24-36 months) who regularly watched the videos. 

The University of Washington and the three professors who conducted the original study still defend their results and conclusions. However, what may be most revealing is the fact the University agreed to pay the teacher and her husband $175,000 in an out-of-court settlement. 

You don’t need to be Albert Einstein to catch the underlying meaning inherit with that. 

And thankfully, when our next child arrives in May, we can turn Baby Einstein on the television for those much needed breaks and not feel too guilty about it, as long as we don’t let them eat hot dogs while watching it.

Gregory Orear is the General Manager/Editor of the Red Oak Express and Glenwood Opinion-Tribune. He can be contacted at publisher@redoakexpress.com.