Modern Mamma Marvels

I’m sure you all remember the hullabaloo about Baby Einstein making your kids dumb. I’m here to say, “Stupid is as stupid does.” (Thanks, Forrest Gump!) Truth is, if you use the television as a babysitter, sure, your kid isn’t going to learn as quickly as the mothers and fathers who are actively doing things with their children. That’s why I’m digging the new Baby Einstein initiative to get parents involved with their children.

I received Baby Einstein: Baby’s First Moves for review. We have the whole box set of the other Baby Einstein DVDs so I was excited to have a new one in house. I really can’t say enough about this particular DVD. While LittleBrother, only three months, merely sat on my lap and occasionally looked at the screen as I chattered along about what was going on, BigBrother surprised the heck out of me.

You see, two-plus-years is really out of the “Baby” Einstein demographic. But holy frijoles did BigBrother enjoy watching this video. The three of us sat on the floor in front of our television. I had told BigBrother that we were going to watch something “special” for LittleBrother. Well, that was enough to make him interested. Use of the word special always has that kid on board! From the moment that a baby came on the screen, BigBrother was delighted. As the narrator talked about what the babies were doing (walking, clapping, standing up), he joined in, looking to me for my approval and continued narration. He explained to me what the puppets were doing and laughed any time a puppet or a child played peek-a-boo.

Color me surprised. This kid is all about actions. Cars that go fast. Sirens that wail. So when he took such an interest in a “baby movie,” I was just simply shocked. But I used it to my benefit. We talked about each scene. We talked about the sounds that the animals made. We talked about hair and hands and eyes and noses. I did all of this with him when he was little and in the age demographic for the movies and plan on doing the same with LittleBrother as he becomes more interested. I suppose this is why BigBrother can’t watch anything on television without discussing what is going on with whomever is watching with him. Makes it hard to watch the news, I tell you.

The best feature of the new DVD is the “Baby Moves” section. A pilates instructor gives you a few easy exercises to do with your baby throughout your daily routine. Any Mama looking to lose a few pounds would benefit from the lunges and lifts and your baby will enjoy the time spent together. Of course, don’t feed your baby immediately before lifting him directly over your head. Yeah. Ick.

All in all, I’m pleased with this particular DVD. Quite frankly, if I hadn’t been sent to review it, I wouldn’t have known that BigBrother could still benefit from watching these with us as a family. We still won’t be watching them on a daily basis or throwing the baby in front of them on repeat (I never, ever choose repeat mode) but I think we’ll make it part of our weekly learning adventures.

Interested in picking up the new DVD? Get it on Amazon! (And PS? The new website is fabulous.)