Baby Einstein, Real Or Genius Marketing?

So last night when I was watching the SOTU, I was curious what this Baby Einstein was. Being I have no children, I am not up on my Disney stuff, so I googled it.

I found a lawsuit, a Dr. and some librarians who think Baby Einstein is more marketing than learning. In fact, all of them mention that this is really targeted at confused new parents. Parents see the Baby Einstein title and think that if they don't get their kids this, they will be subjecting them to stupidity.

As Dr. Dave Walsh puts it:

Unfortunately, the promise of Baby Einstein is not backed up by one shred of evidence. I have yet to see any science that shows plopping an infant in front of a screen can replace, let alone expand, the benefits of human interaction between a parent and her child. The line of products for babies is, however, backed up by one of the world's most powerful marketing machines, the Disney Company. The smartest thing about the videos is its name. Baby Einstein delivers an oblique promise that is extremely enticing. After all, who wouldn't want their kids to be brilliant?

No where do I read that the products are bad for the kids, but as the librarians said:

We’ve found that Baby Einstein books are no better or worse than many other titles. It’s the marketing that’s troublesome—keying into parents’ feelings of competition and responsibility to create a “genius.” Actually, the Baby Genius series has great pictures for babies and even prompts parents to ask questions about what their children see on the pages. In truth, there is nothing wrong with the books themselves—except for the manipulation of parents’ emotions.

What a surprise, Bush is promoting someone who manipulates people. Even better that he does it in the SOTU. Oh yes, the state of our union is strong!