first thoughts
Angela Lehman-Rios
Can I make a confession? The whole recent “Baby Einstein” debate
makes me weary. So weary I haven’t really followed it, in fact.
The headlines are tiring enough: Study says baby videos may be
detrimental to vocabulary development; massive media corporation that
makes baby videos says study is flawed.
What did you expect?
I think that by and large, parents are smart enough to know such videos
are not a magic wand, guaranteeing lifelong success for our children.
But it’s a time-honored tradition that people with a buck to make will
take advantage of parents’ deepest dreams. Occasionally, we let
ourselves be duped.
It’s good to have these debates picked up by the media now and then. And
it’s good to be reminded, as psychologist Andrew Meltzoff, one of the
study’s authors, noted, “Parents and caretakers are the baby’s first and
best teachers.”
In contrast to any kind of media, “[parents] instinctively adjust their
speech, eye gaze and social signals to support language acquisition,”
wrote Meltzoff.
He also noted that babies, most of whom sleep quite a bit, are awake
only a limited number of hours each day. Why not spend that time wisely?
Every hour a child is parked in front of a screen is an hour he or she
isn’t doing something more developmentally appropriate.
(Not to mention that every dollar spent on a supposedly educational DVD
for one’s baby is a dollar not invested for future use on something
truly educational, like oboe lessons, international student exchange, or
college.)
I’m willing to agree that the University of Washington study was
inconclusive—as its authors themselves said—but even so, I’m still not
buying the goods. What if watching DVDs such as the Brainy Baby series
does increase a child’s vocabulary? So the kid knows 100 words by the
time she’s 14 months instead of 50 words by the time she’s 16 months.
Who cares more: the child, or the parent? What is the long-term benefit?
Is the child learning how to be kind?
And by the way, there’s no need to throw away any potentially
detrimental baby DVDs you might have bought…the folks at the Children’
Museum of Richmond Art Studio can show you and your kids how to make
some neat crafts out of them.
***
You’ll notice a new feature in this issue on page 33. “The College
Edge,” written by Julie Bruner, will give high school juniors and
seniors key points to tackle every month as they plan to attend college.
Bruner was a guidance counselor at Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School
for many years, where she helped high school juniors and seniors through
the college application process. She’s now a counselor at Trinity
Episcopal School and the author of two planners for college-bound
students.
“The College Edge” will always run down the edge of the magazine, of
course—making it easy to clip and save if your kids aren’t in high
school yet. It also aims to give students an edge in the complex college
application process by helping them be organized and on-time.
And don’t forget to send in your questions for “Parent Power,” our
monthly Q&A column about education. Former superintendent of public
instruction, Dr. Jo Lynne DeMary, addresses issues from preschool up
through high school.
Happy September!
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