What Is the Most Needed Kind of Children's Video?

A.,

My then-1-yr-old (now 21-month-old) loves, LOVES Boz the Bear. The videos teach many educational topics and life lessons. Boz sparks many conversations later or gives me a springboard for reinforcement: "Look! That's a hoola hoop. Let's try it." The newest video is an ABC's and numbers theme. There are usually 3 15-minute segments on each video. My other children love these videos, too! Yes, even my 8.5 y-o-b! www.bozthebear.com

HTH,
B.

Truth be told, the best video is none. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children not watch TV for their first two years of life. Even a show like Sesame Street is not advised until the child is 3 years old or older.

Of course, as some moms pointed out, sometimes using the TV is inevitable if you need free hands for a few minutes. But you're kind of kidding yourself if you believe using these videos is better than not.

BTW, I have a Ph.D. in Media Effects.

Try taping or if you have a TiVo even better, "Blues Clues". It's educational, colorful, and intelligent children's television. My daughter has been watching it forever, and she has a HUGE over 100 word vocabulary, and is speaking in 3-5 word sentences at 21 months of age.

Baby Einsteins "Baby Macdonald", "Baby Neptune" (which has a cool aquarium feature) were favorites in this house. I would only buy one or two, as we bought too many, and she outgrew them. She has moved on to Little Einsteins which teaches about teamwork, classical music, artwork, geography, etc. It's quite good, and gives Mommy 20 minutes to get something done.

Good luck, and remember to read to your baby as well!

Baby Einstein all the way...and Little People. I also started my son on the Leapfrog Letter Factory, and he knew his letter and their sounds by 16 months.

one answer: Baby Einstein. YOu don't need a video that tells you what to do. Just listen to it... rent them first but I have everything baby einstein.. now my daughter watches Little Einsteins and loves classical music and knows many languages. Matter of fact her teacher (she's 3) asked me if we spoke French in our home I said no but I remembered Baby E.Great stuff.
Check it out: interaction is free.

A.,

My $.02 would be that if you are looking to interact with & encourage your baby do so with playtime on the floor, face to face. Nothing is more important during the infant stage. It goes by too quickly. You are almost to the toddler stage ... look out! :)

When my son was an infant and I needed a minute to do dishes, start dinner, etc. I would pop in a Baby Einstein DVD for 20-25 minutes. However, after my son turned 9 months we built in TV time into his schedule ... which is not recommended, but I needed it to get things done. He loves the Wiggles, and many shows on the network Noggin (www.noggin.com). You will learn what your little guy enjoys over time.

Just be careful not to introduce anything that may be appropriate for an older child (Sponge Bob, etc). Many of the actions cannot be processed by a toddler that does not understand and can cause sleep issues, etc.

Also, before you spend $$$ on DVD's that may never get watched ... check out your local library, Blockbuster or borrow from friends.

My 8 mo old gets an hour of video time(spaced out)on most weekdays. I have the entire Baby Einstein collection. He enjoys the Baby McDonald and the safari animals ones the most.
The Language Nursery is OK but certainly not his favorite. Baby Einstein Favorite Places is another one he favors. There are so many in the set!

I also HIGHLY recommend the book Baby Play by Dr Masi and Dr Leiderman. It describes 100 fun activities to maximize your baby's potential. Its filled with nursery ryhmes,baby games,and different ideas for what to do during play time with your baby. All the activities are geared towards developing your child's mental abilities. The book is divided into sections by age (ie:games for age one month,2 mos, 3 mos, and so on..)

I love playing with my little guy. I have more fun with him than I do with people my own age! Go figure. :)

My youngest has watched baby einstein since he was an infant and he is now 20 months and stills enjoys it very much.

Good Luck
M.

we have a video of little people. It was in the box when we bought the little people garage. I think that's the most watched video in our house.
Nogging has nice programs. Tape: Oobi, even my 5 year old loves it, and my 1,5 year old loves it too. Maisy mouse is good. Miffi is also for the little ones.

But a 9 month old doesn't "need' tv, try to minimize it as much as possible.

good luck,
I.

When we were in California my brother had the delux cable package with a lot of "on-demand" programs (we don't get cable so it was cool). Anyway, there were a lot of different programs aimed at babies and one series specifically stated that there was a lot of time with no words so that you could interact and discuss what is on the screen with your baby. We liked that one. I can't remember what series it was though - maybe "Brainy Baby" or "eebee".

A.,
I love the Baby Einstein- in fact I have 2 DVD's I'll sell you for $10- Baby Van Gough and Baby Shakespear. My youngest is 2 1/2 and has just now outgrown them.
You can go and pick some out at the library and try them to see what your son seems to enjoy.

D.