Baby Einstein refunds extended after activist fight
The popular Baby Einstein DVD series has come under fire by parenting activists.
By Andrew Heining | 10.27.09
Are Baby Einstein DVDs the key to making sure your little one grows up to be a really smart Innovations blogger? In a word, no.
An argument over the discs’ worth – they’re marketed to parents of children under age 2 – and whether they’re educational or just entertaining has come to a head.
Bowing to pressure from parenting advocate groups, the Baby Einstein Company (a subsidiary of Walt Disney Co.) in September extended its existing exchange and refund program to five years, from the usual two months.
The program, announced Sept. 4, allows parents dissatisfied with the DVDs to exchange up to four of them for a different Baby Einstein CD or book, or for a $15.99 refund, provided they were purchased between June 5, 2004 and September 4, 2009. This is in addition to the company’s normal satisfaction guarantee program, which offers purchasers $19.99 refunds within 60 days of purchase.
A month and a half after the company announced the offer, the parenting group Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CFCC) sent a press release that called the refund offer “a wonderful victory for families and anyone who cares about children” on its site. Several newspapers, including the New York Times and Wall Street Journal, then covered the refund, questioning if the DVDs worked at all. The Journal wondered if the series fed off “the allure of the digital babysitter.”
Baby Einstein General Manager Susan McLain calls the controversy surrounding the refund program “a sensational, headline-grabbing publicity campaign that seeks to twist and spin a simple, customer satisfaction action into a false admission of guilt.” McLain cites a Federal Trade Commission judgment – that Baby Einstein makes no claims to be educational – as evidence that her company has done no wrong.
The episode comes as Nielsen announces results from a study of US children’s TV habits. It found that children age 2-5 spend some 32 hours a week in front of the television, and that for US children of all ages, time spent watching TV is at an eight-year high.
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2. joseph | 10.27.09
Interesting that this should come up shortly after the publication of Bronson & Merryman’s “Nurture Shock” … a very important book about child development that absolutely everyone could gain a lot from. I wonder if their account of the effects (lack of, rather) is what has prompted many parents to go back for a refund?
3. Bohred | 10.27.09
“My toddler’s still dumb, I want my money back.”
Lazy, silly parents, try talking or reading to your kids.
4. Jerome Thomas | 10.27.09
Advertising, like this “Baby Einstein” scam, has usurped and totally corrupted the world’s most efficient and promising medium of communication and education: Television. The Republicans actually introduced a bill in the senate to withdraw all funding from PBS and NPR, two of our last remaining media of education, news and quality entertainment. The advertising industry supports it. We are eating our planet, blinded by the evil that is modern advertising and marketing. And no, I’m not just another churlish and bitter curmudgeon. I spent 30 profitable years in the advertising industry as a writer, producer and director. I will take the shame and regret of my participation in the sophomoric, rapacious and amoral industry that is advertising to my grave. When future generations, if any, revisit the crimes against humanity that commercial advertising has committed, they will never forgive us for distroying the great promise of television.
5. Bradley | 10.27.09
I don’t know if Baby Einstein makes kids smarter, but my 3 year old daughter watches Baby Einstein and yesterday she figured out how to levitate my minivan and get it to stop using gasoline and instead run on a principle of cold fusion that she developed while implementing a theory on how to perfect the supercollider that she constructed out of a new plasma-based polymer molecule substance. And then she urinated in her pants.
6. taz | 10.27.09
To Bohred
How bad of you to call your toddler dumb.. children learn by you teaching them and through behavior that is learned and what you teach them.
7. Jake | 10.27.09
What I fail to understand is why it would have been so difficult for Disney to partner with some Educational experts to design Baby Einstein to be an educational experience rather than candy wrapped in an educational-appearing wrapper. Sesame Street and the Television Family Workshop has has great success for years developing quality educational, yet entertaining, children’s fair. Why is it so hard for Disney? I would think Mickey would be appauled to learn that some of his friends were trying to short change the kids.
8. Keith | 10.27.09
I myself am very satisfied with the product. Do I realize that the term “Einstein” is just marketing and doesn’t mean the product will make my toddler a genius? Yes. Is this better than watching loony tunes or some other worthless entertainment? Yes again. Let’s not blow this out of proportion here. Rather, let’s exercise some common sense and personal responsibility.
It’s our responsibility as consumers to see through extremely simple advertising campaigns like this and see things for what they are. If you’re dumb enough to think that this product will provide your child with a competitive advantage, then maybe you don’t deserve an exchange or refund.
9. shadowsprite | 10.27.09
Child Development course often emphasize that children learn by doing: what goes into the hand or the mouth goes into the brain. The great downside of TV is that it robs children of ‘hands-on’ time as well as interactive learning opportunities with real human beings during an important point in their development.
We didn’t have a TV until my youngest child was ten and we wanted to watch the Olympics as a family. My son is now at a prestigious college, is hard working,intrinsically motivated, and has strong moral values. I’m sure he won’t be any more brilliant if I’d put him in front of a Baby Einstein video.
Why put a baby in front of a screen for entertainment when he can look at the window and watch the leaves blowing in the wind?
10. Liz | 10.27.09
for my money, the best CDs for Babies are the “Rockabye Baby: Lullabye Renditions of:” series
featuring
the Beatles
U2
Green DAy
The Pixies
Beach Boys
Ramones–etc, etc.
11. christina | 10.27.09
I just parent my toddler and use videos and tv for fun. Sorry if cds and videos aren’t making children smarter. Read a book, grab some flashcards or invest in some crayons. Don’t sit your kid in front of a tv and cross your fingers!
13. Mihi Nomen Est | 10.27.09
My mom taught me to read out of the newspaper when I was two.
Granted, that was forty-five years ago and there weren’t the fancy toys we have today.
There’s no substitution for 1::1 
14. Melinda Saldivia | 10.27.09
What kind of parent thinks you plop your kid in front of a television and the kid become a genius …
Maybe the babies should get a refund on the defective parents and keep the dvd!
15. andrea | 10.27.09
why is it such a mystery that the best thing a parent can do is interact with, read to, read with, laugh with and generally engage in parenting - come on people - use some common sense here please
16. Otis T | 10.27.09
My kids are now 4 and 7 and well beyond they years spent watching Baby Einstein movies. I will say however that used with discretion (like everything should be) they were good for the times you had to be in the kitchen fixing dinner or something where you needed a little “time out”. They entertianed the kids better than a lot of other stuff that is out there. It may well be unrelated but the kids still remember quite a lot of classical riffs. Much more significant than the rest of the story is the Nielsen statistic that kids 2-5 average some 32 hours of TV watching per week! I hope that is not correct. There lies the rub.
17. Henry | 10.28.09
Spending half an hour a day reading to your child before bedtime is probably more value than any dumbed down DVD. Reading quality books like Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book and not the dumbed down versions. Learning the love of reading will in the long term outweigh and counteract the detrimental effects of poor quality TV cartoons and comedy series. Providing the text of quality books with a person reading the text on a dvd would be more educational than most available childrens DVDs.
18. Efren | 10.28.09
I’m sorry but baby einstein is a great substitute for having my kid watch sponge bob or other shows of that nature. My kid does learn from those videos, she has learned about many things that are all around the house and outside.
19. SLB | 10.28.09
I for one, have been VERY pleased with the videos. They allow for creativity and interaction in many ways. I am very surprized at the negative reaction of many people regarding this product. There are a few good things that I don’t have to worry about what showing, what is being said, and with this product both my kids (2yrs and 11 months) laugh, and learn in a focused time of a whole 20-27 minutes! Not Hours. Please people don’t you have better things to complain about?!?!?!
20. Steve | 10.28.09
I see this refund offer as a chance of getting your money back if you don’t like the DVDs. Nothing more. It’s not a compensation for “damages”, because you don’t get to keep the DVDs when you ask for the refund.
21. Amber | 10.28.09
See, this just makes me mad. I did buy quite a few of the Baby Einstein videos when my daughter was little, but I didn’t plop her in front of them so I could go and do something else. I used them as a tool to point out different things and call them by name, which I believe helped her speak as early as she did (full sentences by 9 months). If used as a teaching tool, the videos work incredibly well.
People that expected a video to teach their children without any interaction from them are simply stupid and should be ashamed for taking advantage of this lawsuit. When it comes to kids, you really get back what you put in. If you focus on your children and dedicate yourself to their moral advancement and education, then they will thrive and reward you with stunning results. If you rely on machines and schools to teach them everything they need to know, then you are going to get another kid that doesn’t respect authority, has no attention span and can only excel to the next level of a video game.
22. Steve | 10.28.09
Dr. Susan Linn, The head of CFCC whose attack on Baby Einstein resulted in this refund, is a Harvard child psychologist who also publishes books, sells videos, and makes TV appearances. Isn’t she just as guilty as Baby Einstein?
23. jane spade | 10.28.09
Shame on Disney or shame or shame on the parents who believe that Baby Einstein tapes make their kids smart?
I have been exposing my children to Baby Einstein tapes since 1999 then you decide. My son is 10 years old. He began reading at 2 1/2, was counting up to 300 at 3 years old, began playing piano at 7 1/2, knowing how to read music that early on. He has been a straight A student for each semester since the 3rd grade, prior to that in 1st and 2nd grades he received “Outstanding” on his report cards. He is involved in student council. As a 4th grader, he won 1st place over a 5th grader in the Geography Bee at his school. On the State tests he scores above the school and county levels. He is currently reading Harry Potter books that are 500-900 pages long. Need I say more?
My twin daughters are 6 and one of them has been reading since she is 2 1/2, my other daughter was writing and drawing with proficiency at the same age. They are currently reading chapter books. They both love music and do well in math.
So, perhaps your babies may not be “geniuses” by the time they are 2, but there are worse DVDs, videos and TV shows your children could be watching and not getting any benefit from them. Baby Einstein DVDs and tapes are engaging, entertaining and musical. The whole concept began with Baby Mozart and the idea that Classical music helps develop the brain. Should they be stuck in front of the TV for hours upon hours, no, but that is not what Baby Einstein was advocating. Of course, parents need to do some parenting, too! For those disgruntled users of Baby Einstein products that means you need to play with your children, read to them, help them learn to help themselves, listen to them, and be there for them. Or are you expecting Baby Einstein to do that for you, too?
24. robert | 10.28.09
I was given a set of Baby Einstein dvds by a friend for our infant.
One of the dvds was the only thing she would watch to go to sleep. That in itself was awesome.
The classical music that is played is probably the only classical music most of these children will ever hear.
The videos show shapes and help a young baby to toddler learn very basic things without the commercialized highly edited fast frame tv that is out there.
I think the videos are educational and good for kids.
However, there is no substitute for interaction. Infants and toddlers need a lot of physical and mental interaction with their parents.
If you think any series of videos will make your child smart and substitute the real attention they deserve and crave then you are doing a dis-service to your children. The videos are meant to compliment the instruction and interaction between child and parent not substitute for it.
I think the fact that people are suing over this shows what is wrong with our country and shows peoples ignorance.
What else are you doing that is more important than your child.? It is difficult at times to stop what you are doing and focus on your child but if you don’t both of you will pay at some point.
Ultimately, I do not think Disney should ahve been sued over something that I would consider personal responsibility.
Of course the most ironic thing is that people are suing because they think their own children are stupid, doesn’t that sound stupid?? Would you really want to tell this to the world?
Rob
25. Nathan | 10.28.09
I never let my daughter watch these videos after I watched one at my sister-in-laws and felt like I was dumber after watching it.
I have bought and will still buy the Baby Einstein toys.
I don’t think TV/Videos are evil, but I don’t think they are really that educational.
In case you didn’t know Disney bought Baby Einstein brand in 2001, and didn’t invent it. Bad investment Disney!
26. jane spade | 10.29.09
The original developer for the Baby Einstein videos is a woman, mother, pianist and her husband who is in the video production business. Their daughters were the main “protagonists” in them. She is also responsible for the “Safe Side Super Chick” safety DVDs and videos which she partnered with John Walsh, whose son, Adam, was abducted from a store, then murdered, giving rise to “Code Adam” throughout the US. John Walsh is also host of “America’s Most Wanted.”
Ain’t nothing dumb about her DVDs and videos, infact, she’s got a clear message to deliver: enhancing children’s abilities through music and keeping them safe.
For those adults who think that watching Baby Einstein videos make you feel dumb, how old are you? Two, three? Those videos are for infants and toddlers, their minds are like blank slates, or “tabula rosa.” Learning about music, speaking different languages and the like are best learned early on. Let’s not forget that as we age our ability to learn new things decreases. So, as adults we cannot appreciate the nuances that help develop a musical mind, which in turn helps develop a mathematical mind. Johann Sebastian Bach, composer, of which a Baby Einstein DVD/video was made, was considered the most mathematical composer of all times. His music has deliberate mathematical components to his scores. Is your kid going to be a mathematician? Composer? Musician? Who knows?
I cannot think of anything more dumber to watch than a SpongeBob, Fairly OddParents video and the like! What is your kid learning from them? Surely,as they get older those shows are amusing and they have strokes of brilliance in the humor.
Your kid ain’t gonna turn out stupid by watching Baby Einstein videos,…
But you may be too dumb not to let them watch one or two of them. Van Gogh teaches about color, Baby Wordsworth teaches sign language, Da Vinci teaches about the human body (particularly the human face), Baby Newton teaches shapes, Baby Galileo about the planets, need I go on?
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1. annom | 10.27.09
it still helps the child learn some things