Baby Einstein or Baby Homer Simpson?

The current parenting trend of having your little ones watch tapes like Baby Einstein may not be working out as planned:

Parents hoping to raise baby Einsteins by using infant educational videos are actually creating baby Homer Simpsons, scientists said today.

For every hour a day that babies 8 to 16 months old watched such popular video series as Brainy Baby or Baby Einstein, they knew six to eight fewer words than other children. ...

The videos, which are designed to engage a baby's attention, hop from scene to scene with minimal dialogue and include mesmerizing images, like a lava lamp.

Christakis said children whose parents read to them or told them stories had bigger vocabularies.

"I would rather babies watch American Idol than these videos," Christakis said, explaining that there is at least a chance their parents would watch with them - which does have developmental benefits.

I will admit that when my kids were little there were times we plopped them down in front of the TV. It wasn't Baby Einstein, but Disney Sing-a-Long Songs or Hap Palmer's Baby Songs. The kids loved them and it gave mom a much needed break. They were never meant to do anything but provide a little wholesome entertainment so mom could get some things done.

Given the musicial proclivities of both my kids, those tapes were probably time well spent. In fact, we still have them because someday there may once again be little feet running around and a grandma and grampa that need a break.