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The Latest Target
By David Bozeman, Ocotober 29, 2007
A quick heads-up to Laptop readers.
Americans love a success story. Sadly, many Americans (mostly liberals) love to tear them down. McDonald's, Wal-Mart, Big Oil, the makers of Oreo's - and, ultimately, consumers - have all suffered the wrath of do-gooder lawyers, bureaucrats and social engineers.
Next in the cross-hairs, look for the Baby Einstein DVD series. Distributed by Disney for infants and toddlers, they teach such basics as numbers, the ABCs, water, the seasons, etc. Just under an hour in length, fast-paced, rich in visuals and often scored by classical music, Baby Einstein primarily, but others like Brainy Baby, as well, have sold exceedingly well. Baby Einstein, in fact, according to National Public Radio's website, has been praised by President Bush for - uh-oh. The social elite will have none of that. The series will be held responsible for the president's occasional verbal gaffes and supposed lack of intellectual curiosity (though in terms of logic and coherence, I'll take a Baby Einstein DVD over AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH any day).
But that is the resounding charge. Studies, particularly a recent one by the University of Washington, have determined that babies (between 2 and 24 months) who watched the series tested lower than ones who didn't. The series is apparently bad for the same reasons that television is bad: the children inactively watch and do not interact and parents cede quality learning time for baby-sitting and diversion. This is the same genius mindset that tells us that McDonald's food as a substitute for a normal balanced diet is not good for you (on behalf of the ones who eat three meals a day, seven days a week at McDonald's, thanks for the reminder, we never woulda thunk it).
No one has ever suggested that Baby Einstein or Sesame Street or any television show is a substitute for interactive learning and development. But Disney, like corporate America itself, is an easy - and potentially profitable - target. Nature.com criticized Disney's skeptical response to the University of Washington study (their article began, "What kept Einstein smart may have been the fact that he didn't watch Baby Einstein videos."), but a reader post is far more typical of the modern, do-gooder mindset. "It is well documented that no research was done prior to the creation of Baby Einstein. It was created by a mom without any scientific training, in her spare time. . . ." A mere mom. What nerve. What does she think she is, a social engineer?
It is not Baby Einstein specifically that riles the do-gooder Left, but individual initiative and capitalism. Head-to-head, the quick, lilting imagination of the free-market will always trump the pious, anal-retentive determination of Lexus-driving liberals to transform Jessica and Justin into geniuses by the time they're three. Capitalism allows individuals to celebrate all stages of life. Liberals will have none of that. Don't rule out the sight of Disney execs explaining themselves before some windbag congressional committee (acting on behalf of 'the children', of course). My three-and-a-half year old niece enjoys the series and I have seen the 'water' edition at least a hundred times. Charlotte is bright, inquisitive, fun and loving. She has two great parents and if her scale of fun and learning tilts slightly more to the fun at this time, then that's ok We wouldn't change a thing about her.
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