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Friday, August 14, 2009

Apparently the dirty diaper mountain was deeper than expected!

So today, Baby Cheapskate made me smile! Baby Cheapskate (http://www.babycheapskate.com/) is one of the best parenting related blogspots I've come across, giving parents a forum to discuss their kids kids’ development and also giving great tips on baby product deals and sales!

So today, one post explained how Baby Einstein and other "developmental" videos do nothing to help kids brain development. I am so happy that such a popular forum is starting to put this research out there! Nothing can substitute for playing with your child. Even if your child is interacting with you while watching the video, your baby is still watching TV! Turn it off, turn on some music and build a block tower. There is no need for blinking lights and moving parts or dvds when a child is just as entertained by a box and a set of wooden blocks.

I, for one, do not feel the need to constantly be competeing with other parents in the "My 6 month old is going to go to Harvard" war . I have been in my share of those debates, and usually a smart ass comment causes people to disregard me as a "contender" and exclude me from the conversation compeltely. Huzzah! That kind of competition only helps parents feel superior to other adults; it does nothing for the children save thrust them into the dog-eat-dog competition that they will ineveitably be exposed to later in life. Constantly pushing children to be better than everyone else at such a young age leads to children who cannot truly enjoy life if anyone has something better than they have. Childhood should be a time of imagination and play, not a time for the social pressure and competition that belongs in the adult world.

What do you think? Do you let your child watch tv or educational videos?