We caught-up with eight-month-old "Alexander" at a local Target. He was in the video section- surrounded by everything from Elmo to Barney. None of those videos will be going home with him. His parents prefer the books in the next aisle.
"You can't replace a good book," Joe Khalaf said.
Now, new research suggests you should replace the DVD in your den. According to a study by the University of California at Riverside, there is no evidence children learn words from educational DVDs like the Baby Einstein series.
Researchers studied 96 babies between 12 months and 24 months.
Back in 2007, another study published in The Journal of Pediatrics showed Baby Einstein videos inhibited language growth in babies 8 to 16 months old.
Ann Rauch has been a speech pathologist for 37 years. She agrees with the recent study. A puppet on a TV screen can't replace the give and take interaction between two people.
"It's an extremely complex process, that's how kids learn how to do it by doing," Rauch said.
There is a common ground among experts. They say instead of making the videos a babysitter, watch them with your baby.
"If you are doing it together and there is conversation and interaction back-and-forth that's OK," said Rauch.
Although, those videos are not OK in Alexander's house, but you can catch a reading of The Very Busy Spider or The Very Quiet Cricket.
"You can't replace a good book," Joe Khalaf said.
Now, new research suggests you should replace the DVD in your den. According to a study by the University of California at Riverside, there is no evidence children learn words from educational DVDs like the Baby Einstein series.
Researchers studied 96 babies between 12 months and 24 months.
Back in 2007, another study published in The Journal of Pediatrics showed Baby Einstein videos inhibited language growth in babies 8 to 16 months old.
Ann Rauch has been a speech pathologist for 37 years. She agrees with the recent study. A puppet on a TV screen can't replace the give and take interaction between two people.
"It's an extremely complex process, that's how kids learn how to do it by doing," Rauch said.
There is a common ground among experts. They say instead of making the videos a babysitter, watch them with your baby.
"If you are doing it together and there is conversation and interaction back-and-forth that's OK," said Rauch.
Although, those videos are not OK in Alexander's house, but you can catch a reading of The Very Busy Spider or The Very Quiet Cricket.
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