I don't think anyone on my friends list has preschool aged children. Still I find this interesting, so I'm sharing, if only so it is in the archives of my journal.

You know those Baby Einstein DVDs? If you don't have young children or work with them, you may not. The Baby Einstein are a series of DVDs and other products aimed at babies that are supposed to stimulate their brain and make them smarter. They all have titles like Baby Einstein, Baby Mozart, Baby Doolittle (animals), Baby Galileo and on and on; there are about a thousand titles. They're hugely popular with everyone, especially yuppy parents who feel that this is a must for children to suceed. You really are denying your child the advantage they'll need to get into *insert name of favorite school* if they haven't been watching these videos and other similair products (though these are by far the most popular) since birth. Problem is they've never been proven to work. There is no research backing any of these things up. Here's a new study that's just come out. Surpised? They don't really work.

Plus the American Pediatrics Association in 2004 came out with a study that children ages 0-2 should watch NO television at all. Zero hours per week. It increases their rate of becoming hyperactive/ADD/ADHD and there are some other problems. This study and a wealth of other information can be found at Zero to Three.org.

I know many of you didn't care, but I have been at a lot of training this week for Every Child Ready To Read (not sure if that site is working, it is through www.ala.org). ECRR is a program for libraries to help increase awareness of preliteracy skills for parents and caregivers. It's pretty cool and I could go on, but I won't. Let's just say, it is scary how many children aren't equipped with the right skills, and how many things parents think will help, won't.