DVDs to help babies learn ‘may hinder skills’
- ‘Educational’ DVDs for infants under review by new study
- Research finds DVDs have negative effects on infant language skills
- Parents advised to limit the time their children watch the products
EDUCATIONAL DVDs and videos which claim to enhance the cognitive development of infants may hinder rather than help their language skills, according to a study published today.
The DVDs, widely available in stores such as Mothercare, often claim to aid the development of babies’ speech and vocabulary, but parents have been warned that if they want to improve their infant’s ability to learn, they should limit the amount of time they spend using such products.
The study highlights products such as the Baby Einstein and Brainy Baby DVD ranges, and suggests overexposing children aged eight to 16 months to them may slow their ability to acquire a vocabulary.
Researchers at the University of Washington and Seattle Children’s Hospital Research Institute found that for every hour per day spent watching baby DVDs and video - which often feature disconnected images and scarce dialogue - infants understood an average of six to eight fewer words than infants who did not watch them. Baby DVDs and videos were found to have no effect on the vocabularies of children aged 17 to 24 months.
Frederick Zimmerman, lead author of the study and an associate professor of health services at the university, said of the paper, published today in the Journal of Pediatrics: “There is no clear evidence of a benefit from baby DVDs and videos and there is some suggestion of harm. The more a child watches baby DVDs and videos, the bigger the effect. The amount of viewing does matter.”
Previous research has shown that by three months of age, 40 per cent of infants are regular viewers of television, DVDs or videos and, by the age of two, this number jumps to 90 per cent.
The new study found no positive or negative effects on infants of either age group from viewing educational and non-educational media or adult television programmes.
On the UK website of Brainy Baby, one of the brands singled out in the study, the manufacturers claim the DVDs are “an entertaining way to help little ones learn educational basics, stimulate cognitive development and gain a start to learning.”
A spokesman for the Educational Institute of Scotland said:
“While we would not wish to comment on the suitability of any individual learning aid product, the EIS would support the view that there is no better method than interaction with parents or other carers in assisting young children in language acquisition.
“Visual aids such as CDs and DVDs are no substitute for genuine interaction with a parent or carer. Active parental involvement is a key to effective learning.”
The Baby Einstein brand, part of Walt Disney, has been the subject of a complaint filed with the US Federal Trade Commission against its advertising, which claims to help babies to learn.
Dr Dimitri Christakis, a pediatrics researcher at Seattle Children’s Hospital Research Institute and co-author of the study, said: “The onus is on manufacturers to prove their claims.”
A US spokesman for Disney Consumer Products said the Baby Einstein range of DVDs gave parents “interactive tools to use with their children,” but declined to comment on the details of the study. ‘I don’t think they help much, they were very basic’
SOPHIA Antonatou used the Baby Einstein DVDs for her son, Marcus, when he was less than a year old.
The titles she bought for him mostly featured musical themes. One feature, Baby Mozart, showed simple shapes, primary colours and images of toys set to classical music.
Ms Antonatou, from Edinburgh, said the DVDs, produced by Walt Disney, captured the full of attention of Marcus.
“He was switched off from everything else while he watched the DVDs,” she said. “I put them on when I had something to get on with.
“I didn’t treat the DVDs as educational aids, and I don’t think they help that much.
“They were very basic in terms of the language, but they lasted for 27 minutes, and I used them as short-term babysitters when I had something to do, and Marcus was totally absorbed.
“The programmes are obviously very interesting to children of that age, but it perhaps wasn’t good that he didn’t pay attention to anything else while watching them.
“Children need to speak with their parents, that’s the best way for them to learn language skills.”
Ms Antonatou, originally from Greece, recently bought Marcus Greek-language children’s DVDs, and believes they are aiding his development. Due to celebrate his third birthday at the end of September, Marcus also enjoys narrative-based DVDs and television.
Ms Antonatou added: “He’s moved on to children’s programmes that have a story and a narrative to them.
“I think it’s good for him to watch Thomas the Tank Engine in moderation and [it’s] better than basic baby DVDs - he learns the words the narrator uses and repeats them when he’s speaking.”
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