It's not surprising that the company that produces these fine videos for babies has been bought by Disney. Its top quality CDs, videos, and DVDs are as good at attracting the attention of financial types as they are at occupying babies and toddlers.
With a strong caution to parents of babies that they should not be exposed to more than one or two hours of television or video a day, I will say with enthusiasm that it would be hard to find a better choice for that time than this series. Do not worry that this is some attempt to open the wallets of ambitious yuppies who are already filling out applications for Ivy League preschools. This is not a series of flash cards. It is just a way to expose babies to the best our culture has to offer in images and sounds.
Baby Van Gogh is an introduction to colors, let by the friendly "Vincent Van Goat." Separate chapters about each of the major colors include van Gogh paintings and cheerful poems. Baby Einstein has toys, patterns, and blocks accompanied by music and narration in a range of languages. Others in the series are also bright and engaging. And the optional read-along books and DVDs have extras to give parents more options in presenting the material.
A few more cautionary notes: I do not recommend the "Sleepytime" video, because studies show that the neurological effect of watching anything on a screen (television, video, or computer) is so stimulating that babies and children take longer to go to sleep and sleep more restlessly. And some of the videos have some bangs and screeches that might startle younger or particularly sensitive kids. But overall, this is one of the best sets of videos and DVDs for young children and their families and highly recommended as long as parents and caregivers remember that the primary activities for babies and toddlers should be play and interaction.
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