Doomed From the Start!

A POTENTIALLY STUPID ADULT


I remember the day we got TV: I was in grade school, forced to walk something like five miles to and from school...uphill both ways, of course. I had not yet taken up band so I was not forced to carry the tuba all that way like I did much later after I got a bike. Anyway, I saw the TV antenna (cable? HA! Good one!) from about five blocks away and began to run and pray simultaneously, "Oh God, please let that be on my house. I will never, ever talk back to the nuns in school again!"
It was, but I couldn't keep my vow longer than two days, dooming me to the fifth level of Dante's Hell FOREVER. That was it: three channels...no DVR...no VHS...no DVD...just TV. Our time was strictly limited, and we were expected to read and do homework. "Bored? I'll GIVE you something to do, young man!" no, we were never bored, and both Fred and I ended up relatively intelligent, though I must admit that he is superior in the intellect department. That's why I pity today's babies. They are doomed from the beginning.
Modern parents have been duped into believing that DVD/VCR programs like Baby Genius and Baby Einstein will turn their toddler into a genius. Research has now begun to show that such programs are ineffective AT BEST and could be harmful. This from Research Children's Hospital in Boston in conjunction with Harvard Medical School. In a study of more than 800 children from 0-3 years old, researchers discovered babies who were exposed to these programs understood fewer words at age 3 than those babies who had not watched the programs designed to "encourage discovery and inspire."
This study is not the only such statement made concerning the efficacy of such programs. An earlier study done by the University of Washington and Seattle Children's Hospital found nearly identical results. There was no evidence of significant delay, but some delay was noted. This, of course, is pooh poohed by the Baby Einstein folks who claim to receive hundreds of testimonials every year from parents. Claiming to feature the fundamental core themes of art, music and nature, such programs could easily convince young parents who probably don't have a lot of time for their new children.
Indeed, Dr. Michael Rich, one of the researchers in Boston, noted that the sole benefit of such programs was to alleviate guilt felt by parents who could not spend as much quality time with their infants as they might like. Dr. Rich suggest personal interaction with toddler in the form of reading and stacking blocks.
Besides, didn't Einstein fail to graduate from high school?