A study just published in the Journal of Pediatrics has concluded that listening to baby genius videos may actually do little to create geniuses - In fact, early viewing of videos may be associated with poor language development. Is this a revelation? No, claims Julie Aigner-Clark, the founder of Baby Einstein. She has suggested that her product was designed to make babies happier, not smarter.
Perhaps the revelation is that evidence based studies can actually disprove the veiled claims of market-driven products. As a pediatrician and a father I’m always quietly suspicious of parents who work seek to create their version of a child prodigy. And it’s inconceivable that such a thing could be achieved by placing a child in front of a television screen.
So is this the beginning of the end of a lucrative cottage industry? I doubt it. So long as there’s the suggestion of a magic bullet that may put a child closer to the front of the line, there will always be a market.
Photograph via Wikipedia