RECALL: Baby Einstein Recall….Kind of…..

By Amber Ortega on October 26th, 2009

Baby Einstein videos have been sold since 1997, being promoted as educational for babies. The company was bought in 2001 by the Walt Disney Company and expanded from the simple videos and included toys, flashcards, books and apparel. Now I don’t know if you have seen any of these videos, but they are a little different. The classical music is nice and we personally do own one of them, which my son has used to fall asleep too on more than on occasion. I never once thought it would actually make him smarter by listening to or watching the pictures on the television, but he enjoyed the music.

In 2006, Susan Linn, director of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood went to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to complain about Disney promoting the educational value of these videos. Then last year, Linn began to threaten a class-action lawsuit due to the deceptive marketing. The Disney company has agreed to refund consumers $15.99 on up to four videos per household for any Baby Einstein videos purchased between June 5, 2004, and Sept. 5, 2009. The videos must be returned to the company. Instead of receiving a refund, you may also exchange the videos for another title. There is no receipt needed for this refund or exchange.

I believe kids do spend too much time in front of the television, but I think this suit is a little extreme. My three-year-old is still watching the Baby Einstein videos and is now proud of himself that he knows the shapes before the video tells him what they are. He watches other types of videos too and his preschool teacher is amazed at his number recognition, which I had to tell her was thanks to the good ol’ Thomas the Train videos we have been picking up. After he started watching those, we would be at a store and he would point to the checkout and tell me what number we were at without prompting. Is it bad that my son watches television? Maybe, but he is learning from it. He isn’t a couch potato that only watches television all day, but he does enjoy his shows. I allow him to watch and he does learn from them, regardless of what others say. He knows letters, colors, shapes and some Spanish from various shows. He lost interest working with me on these things, but the shows keep his interest and keep him motivated.

According to the Baby Einstein website, the return/refund policy is as follows:

To participate, you must have purchased a Baby Einstein DVD between June 5, 2004 and September 4, 2009.

If you are not satisfied with the Baby Einstein DVD you purchased during the period mentioned above, for a limited time beginning on September 4, 2009 and ending on March 4, 2010, you may exchange it for one of the following:

One (1) Baby Einstein Book of your choice

One (1) Baby Einstein music CD of your choice

- Or -

One (1) coupon for 25% off the purchase of one Little Einsteins™ product. Redeemable with promotion code only at DisneyStore.com.

or you may return it, and we will refund the current retail value of the DVD ($15.99).

To request your DVD exchange or refund (limited to four (4) per household), you must follow the steps below for each DVD returned (note: you may return more than one DVD in the same mailing envelope, but you MUST include a completed mail-in certificate or completed 8½x11 sheet of paper for each DVD you are returning) :

1. Package the DVD, in its original DVD case (if available), into a suitable mailing envelope or package.
2. Include the completed (hand-printed) request form below or an 8½x11 sheet of paper with your signature, name, address, telephone number and email address.
3. Indicate the DVD title you are returning and date of purchase.
4. Check the appropriate box on the exchange/refund request form found below or write in on your sheet of paper your choice of :
(a) An exchange for one (1) Baby Einstein Book OR one (1) Baby Einstein music CD. Please write in the product name or title in the appropriate space found on the refund request form below OR on your sheet of paper;
(b) A coupon for 25% off one (1) Little Einsteins™ product purchased online at DisneyStore.com; or
(c) A refund.
5. Submissions must be postmarked by March 4, 2010.
6. Mail to:

The Baby Einstein DVD Guarantee/Upgrade Offer
P.O. Box 3200
Neenah, WI 54957-3200

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Mary

I have several Baby Einstein videos and have no intention of returning them. All four of my grandchildren watched them when they were small and I feel it was a wonderful learning tool. They are now in school and doing above average. Anything can be detrimental if used excessively, but in moderation I feel these videos are great.
Clint

This is just stupid. Can the adults please stand up? I probably agree with Susan Linn on quite a bit in this regard, but this is a perfect example of someone whose passions has run roughshod over her rationality. Baby Einstein videos have got to be one of the most benign video influences possible to create. They happen to be quite fetching. We own the box set that we got for dirt cheap on eBay. Our toddler has seen most of them. She loves them. Does that mean she spends all day in front of the TV? Of course not. Does that mean we think she ought to be playing the piano and signing in Russian by age five? Of course not. And only a moron would think otherwise. It’s a frickin’ advertising campaign, lady. I weep for our culture when people like this are “helping” us.
Angela Reeves

All I have to say is DITTO to what Clint has said….People will threaten to sue over ANYTHING! We have the videos and even though the money (refund) that they are offering would be nice, there is no price tag on the way these videos make my son smile each and everytime he watches them – and he’s 2 now and STILL LOVES THEM! I love them as well, the music is really nice and I think the videos are eye catching – and NO, I DIDN’T BUY THEM THINKING THEY WERE GOIN TO TURN MY SON INTO AN EINSTEIN – I BOUGHT THEM JUST LIKE I HAVE BOUGHT SO MANY OTHER VIDEOS….IF YOU WANT TO MAKE YOUR CHILD “SMART” THEN WORK WITH THEM AND THAT’S WHAT WE DO WHILE WE WATCH TV rather it be Baby Einstein or something else…..LADY GET A GRIP!!!!! I too, hate to think that there are people out there with OBVIOUSLY nothing better to do than this!!!!!! UGHHH!
Jennifer

I too will be keeping our videos. My kids have outgrown them but I won’t be taking advantage of this frivolous lawsuit.
Krystle

I also agree with Clint, very well said.

Even this article author’s son has learned the shapes and more from the videos. Aren’t stories like that proof enough that the videos do offer the mental stimulation and education?

You say you believe kids spend too much time in front of the television — who’s kids? Your kids? My kids? My neighbor’s kids? How do you know this? By a poll taken of 100 people, or the whole country?
Clint

I’m happy to see the adults standing up. We are the champions, and all that.

Krystle asks: “You say you believe kids spend too much time in front of the television — who’s kids? Your kids? My kids? My neighbor’s kids? How do you know this? By a poll taken of 100 people, or the whole country?”

Krystle, I was piqued enough to go digging through the primary sources on Susan Linn’s organization’s website. The lawsuit is premised on the idea that parents are buying these videos because they believe they’ll help their kids be smarter, right? Well, the poll upon which that argument is based on a phone survey of ultimately 1009 people in Washington state with children in various age groups.

Here’s why the poll is almost certainly faulty: The questions were not open-ended. Parents were read a list of six reasons why they allowed their children to watch such videos, and were then asked to state which was the most important reason. In other words, it was a leading question.

The results were this, with the corresponding percentages:

The television and video programs that I have
my child watch teach him/her something or
are good for his/her brain 28.9
It is something he/she really enjoys doing 22.7
I need some time to get things done on my own 20.5
It is time he/she spends together with a sibling 9.1
The child needs or wants to relax 4.4
It teaches the child to get along well with others 1.4
It is family time, bonding time, or quality time 0
It grabs and holds my child’s attention 0
Other reasons 13.0

Would you look at that: Combine two and three, and the great majority of parents say that it’s mostly for entertainment or baby-sitting, not because they think it’ll make their 1-24 mo. old smarter. And how many of the “it’ll make Tyler smarter” crowd do you think responded that way because of pride–that is, they didn’t want to be perceived as absent parents?

But the researchers actually placed MORE WEIGHT on the first one, the “smarter baby” answer, because the demographics found no appreciable difference in the number of “babysitting” answers given by folks with few or many kids, or single parents. Talk about over-thinking your questions. I’ve got an idea: How ’bout you just take people’s answers at face value? If you do that, of course, the “smarter baby” crowd really is 30% of people, but even if that’s the case, a greater percentage don’t. And even then, the idea that the “makes my baby smarter” answer is more realistic than the “get things done answer” is just ridiculous. I have to wonder how many of these researchers are parents themselves.

Ultimately I think this is a case of the questions largely determining the answer, and the most important factor–common sense–getting left on the laboratory floor. And a lawsuit-happy group ignoring that and running with it anyway.
Krystle

Unbelievable, wow!

Thank you, Clint, for searching and providing this information!
melissa

I have no intention in returning any of my baby enistien. They are a great learning tool.

My daughter learned how to sign from a video in two times of watching it.

Also my son has learned huge amount from them from colors to words.

Also I would rather my children watch these programs verses uneducational tv program full with commericals.
Granny Nette

I cannot believe this woman feels like she’s helping anyone.
My 3 y.o. Granddaughter LOVED the DVD’s and sometimes asks to watch one. Do I believe she is more intelligent than other children her age? Yes, I do. Do I believe it is due to Baby Einstein DVD’s? Possibly, because I do believe that classical music taps in to some part of the brain to help one memorize what they are reading or viewing. Of course I spend a lot of time with my Granddaughter, teaching her how to speak properly, not “can I help …” but “may I help …” in her daycare/preschool, she is the only child who knows the name of our President, where he lives (address, not just the White House), she knows who our lousy Governor is, she is bilingual (no one else in our family speaks Spanish) and is now learning ASL! It’s a shame that people are going to jump on this band wagon.
Shannon Pearce

I love them too – more importantly they helped my son and I learn sign language as his speach was delayed. I only wish Disney would have stood up to this threat – I think just the reaction on this board shows how uniformed she is.
TRUE KNOWLEDGE

the point of the suit is NOT that babies are spending too much time in front of a tv, the point is that Disney was falsely advertising the result of said product. There was no scientific proof that the videos made the baby smarter. That is why you have to know the facts, babies sitting in front of a tv is not the issue here, its the false advertising of a product, and that is a crime. Hence Disney took action and made a very proactive choice; they decided to create a VOLUNTARY recall, and i applaud them for that. good way to keep existing customers.
Denise

True knowledge, really the basis of this suit was once again saying “hey you know what, Americans are just too stupid to know any better and they take all advertising at face value”. Apparently the coalition thinks American parents actually might believe that these videos will create smarter children so than Disney should not make any reference to them being educational. Clint has some great points and the survey he alludes to used as “proof” most certainly is faulty and pointless. Surely to God this organization could be spending their time on much more useful lawsuits related to things that might actually be harmful – such as the violent video games being produced en masse for kids these days. I feel sorry for Disney that they even had to acknowledge this ridiculous lawsuit. I bought this video because I thought they would be helpful to me to teach my son certain things. I watch them along with him and point things out on the screen. He is 9 months old and consequently is learning what eyes, ears and mouths are and he seems to be getting it. Not because I think the video is teaching him but because it is a great tool to help me teach him.