.
So. How's it going?
Not bad over here. Still a little more tightly wound than I'd like, thanks to some unforeseen changes that I've talked about privately, but I'm nothing if not resilient, right?
I'm having to take a day off tomorrow, to cover Bean's not being in school yet, and had planned to take the girls up to the zoo in Waco. But all this rain has me a little worried that all the animals will be sittin' on a big boat when we get there ... it's not a super long drive but long enough that I'd hate to waste the trip.
Have you heard the kerfluffle about the Baby Einstein DVDs? How people are all excited that Disney's offering refunds because - shocker - baby's brains really *aren't* improved by watching the DVDs?
Disney says that it's just their standard policy, and the big fastoosh is actually people making mountains out of molehills (the four-year-old's new favorite phrase) for their own grandstanding.
To me, it's more a statement of how lazy we've become as parents, if we truly believe that a video takes the place of us and what we're supposed to do for and with our children. There's no way I'll be seeking a refund because I never bought 'em thinking they'd make my kids smarter - I bought 'em because they were a more developmentally appropriate babysitter than Buffy the Vampire slayer was.
Yeah, I said it out loud. Babysitter. Anyone who really expected a video to make their kid smarter doesn't need a refund - they need their own set of brain-building videos. Seriously. TV and videos are just ways to buy time for parents. Sometimes it's time to pursue noble causes like a shower or making a meal; sometimes it's time to pontificate on a blog. But it's not called the boob tube for nothin' folks.
I actually never really dug on the DVDs because the midi-style classical music annoyed the crapola out of me. And I just never got how watching a bunch of wind-up toys was a vast improvement over TV + commercials. I was a much bigger fan of Classical Baby - good music, good art and nice little animals.
What do you think? Should people be walking around, fist-bumping because they feel like this is some kind of admission on Disney's part? Does anyone really deserve a refund because a video didn't make their kid smarter?
Posts
4 comments:
I'll take a refund, regardless of the reason. I agree that anyone who thought videos, CDs, or anything short of replacing someone's child with a prodigy would actually make someone a genius is just living in a fantasy world. Then again, even as I laugh at someone who does think that, I buy into all sorts of other things that are supposed to be good for my kids so who am I to laugh really? I just want my refund. :-) Those DVDs were a waste of money. It didn't even do a good job babysitting my kids.
I, too admit to using the TV as a babysitter, I mean, we'd never eat a cooked meal otherwise! : )
As for the those who thought a DVD would make their kids smarter, well they thought a DVD would make their kids smarter. Poor kids, genetically, they didn't have much of a chance to begin with. (Don't mind me, I'm in a snarky mood.) Though, I do wish I had the DVDs, I could use the refund! ; )
I personally loved the dvds, though I never thought they would make my kids smarter. That's insane. They were great for babysitting - like Vivian said, we'd never eat otherwise.
Actually Port has never seen one. The big brother and lately the great outdoors makes a better babysitter than the tv ever did.
The refund thing does kind of bug me though. I don't think Disney should owe anyone anything. But it's their mistake to make I guess.
Oh, how I wish the TV *had* been a boob tube. That would have saved me SOOOOO much time nursing!
:)
Post a Comment