Customer Reviews

Baby Einstein [VHS]

5 star:		(194)
4 star:		(57)
3 star:		(44)
2 star:		(47)
1 star:		(84)

 

 

This "video board book" does a number of things very well. Much like a standard board book, it shows infants bright, high-contrast images. But this video version also plays soothing and sometimes spunky melodies. It also lets children hear speakers of more than half a dozen foreign languages, including Hebrew, Russian and Japanese.

This feature of the video is confusing to many parents of potential viewers. Will the video teach junior to speak one of the foreign languages on the tape? Not exactly. Will it make junior a little Einstein? Not exactly. What good is it, then?

What the video DOES do is help the mind preserve many of the nerve synapses in the brain which would otherwise be destroyed as the infant matures into a toddler.

Imagine a Bonsai tree, of which some of its miniature limbs and branches are trimmed because they are not useful to the tree as a whole. The body does the same thing to unused mental synapses sometime around the first and second years of life. And they don't grow back.

Now think about all the funny comedy scenarios you've seen where a Japanese tourist says something like, "Herro, I'm rooking for Horrywood, Carifornia." Why do his Ls sound like Rs? Because there is NO "R" sound (phoneme) in the Japanese language. And because our tourist never heard that sound in his infancy, he cannot now, as an adult, discern it from the phonemically-similar "L" sound.

Infants hearing a variety of phonemes foreign to English-speaking people at this young age will preserve the synapses that are sensitized (from birth) to these sounds. And this video does just that.

So while the video will not teach junior the foreign language, if he tries to learn the language later, he will have an easier time of it, because he will be sensitized to that language's sounds. And while junior perhaps will not be an Einstein for watching, he will come away from the experience with more synapses in his brain than had he not watched.

Also be aware that none of this is pop psychology -- it is well-researched and tested fact, taught in most undergraduate and graduate psychology, speech and linguistics classes today (See the producer's Web site for details).

Finally, as other reviewers have said better than I have, the video is a lot of fun for you and junior to watch together! And perhaps THAT is the selling point for prospective parents who want the best for their little ones.

Okay...I must admit that my son is a Baby Einstein junkie! He was very fussy until he was three-months-old and Baby Bach was literally the only thing that saved my sanity on some days. Now that he is past the one-year milestone, he has the entire Baby Einstein library. He particularly loves the Baby Dolittle tapes and will watch them again and again.

We were happy to see a new title to add to our collection and waited patiently for the release date. I must say, I am a bit disappointed overall.

First, the video seems a lot shorter than the other ones. Maybe it's because I bought the DVD this time and am used to the "commercial" at the end of the tapes. My son insists on watching through to the "commercial" on the tapes, as even they hold his attention.

Second, the fast editing is more MTV than Baby Einstein. Our children have dwindling attention spans as it is. Disney's hands are ALL OVER this video. If you watch the Disney Channel, it's the same feeling. More substance and less flash would do this video good. Also, Baby Neptune lacks the panache of, say, Vincent Van Goat (Baby Van Gogh) or Jane (World Animals).

Last, it just didn't seem to hold my son's attention like other Baby Einstein titles. Starting with Baby Beethoven, the new voice at Disney seems to have disturbed the organic quality of the original tapes. To be honest, I miss Sierra and Aspen on this tape. It helped with the "from my house to yours" feel of previous titles. The puppets also seem to be lacking in this video. The interaction of the puppets with other puppets or the children is charming on previous videos.

On a positive note, I recommend the DVD for the repeat play feature if for nothing else. I don't stick my child in front of these tapes for hours at a time, but we often have them on in the background when we are playing together. Still, when you need a video babysitter to get the dishes done, having this option is a lifesaver!

I look forward to the Little Einstein series in the works for older children. I think these tapes will be a touchstone for my child's generation, much like "School House Rock" or "Free To Be You And Me" was for mine.

I had to add my input after reading all the reviews, positive and negative. This video does indeed appear "homemade." However, the creator (Julie Clark) and her husband, who does all the video, have gotten progressively more sophisticated with each video, although I would not recommend any of the Baby _____ videos for their video quality. Regardless, they are captivating to young babies. My six month old son has been watching all three, Einstein, Mozart and Bach since he was one month old. I was very dubious regarding the claims that they would interest a baby this young. He reacted with delight then, and continues to enjoy them all. He has just started watching Baby Shakespeare which seems to be his favorite, so don't be afraid to start your baby early on this one. I would suggest if your baby doesn't take to it the first time, give it a second try. You can get all the adult opinions you want, but really, it's how your baby reacts that counts! It's been designed to appeal to babies and their view of the world.

My son of 18 months has been watching these videos since he was 2 months old. At that young age, the music kept him content. We have the entire series and he has enjoyed every video. Now that he's a little older he especially likes the Shakespeare and Van Gogh videos. He laughs at the puppets and enjoys watching the children in the videos. These two videos are especially colorful and artistic. We recently purchased the newest Baby Dolittle video and found our last trip to the zoo to be even more enjoyable as he pointed out animals he recognized from the video.

We look forward to the next Baby Einstein video!!

Picked up Baby Neptune DVD on the March 18 "release date" - early 1st birthday present for my daughter (she was reaching for Enimem's '8 Mile' but a little too young for that). As she was having a fussy spell when we got home, we immediately put it in and watched her grin ear to ear when she saw/heard the Einstein bug coming! Definately for the 9+ month old child as Baby Einstein suggests ... but extremely cute. We are big fans of the new Baby Beethoven DVD - but Neptune is a great one too, also more educational. My husband and I previewed it with my daughter over dinner, and were totally amazed by the footage of the marine life (we are both scuba divers). Cute turtle and octopus puppets as usual and for those who don't like the videos with Julie Aigner's kids (why I am not sure), as far as I saw, they're not in Neptune. There are more chances than ever to teach toddlers things in this one too, its one that is enjoyable to watch with your baby - the marine life is fascinating - very clear photography. Only downside was the DVD menu that plays the same song over and over, which will drive a parent nuts. The bonus material has an "aquarium" of a white haired scuba diver feeding fish and closeups of marine life which was really cute too ... more teachable moments (lobster, underside of an octopus, sea horses, things I never get to see diving!!) and other great animal footage!! I have loved Baby Einstein products since my daughter first watched them at 4 weeks old, and I think toddlers will enjoy Neptune a lot. Great way to teach them to appreciate marine life they may not get to see until they are older.

My son absolutely loved this video when he was a baby (he's now a toddler), as well as Baby Mozart. Even now he occasionally asks to see Baby Mozart! We had all 3 (Baby Mozart, Baby Einstein, Baby Bach) so that we could rotate them, and that worked really well. The So Smart! videos are also really good, although admittedly not as entertaining for the adults as Baby Einstein,Mozart,etc.!! I also recommend the Baby's First Impressions videos for babies 8 months and up - we got several of them when our son outgrew Baby Mozart, and now as a toddler they are some of his favorites. ENJOY! YOU'LL BE GLAD YOU GOT BABY EINSTEIN/BABY MOZART/BABY BACH!!

I will be honest. Our son loves Baby Mozart, Baby Bach, and Baby Shakespeare. The music on them is delightful and the videography is great. The toys and objects are shot in such a way that they get a baby's and toddler's attention. But, I find that they are not as mesmerizing as the Barney, Elmo, etc. TV stuff is.

Now, for Baby Einstein. The concept is good, but in execution, it didn't work for our son. Listening to moms speak in a dozen languages bored our son. And the videography is not well done, so the images don't get a child's attention. This was the first tape in the series; the others are far better. We ended up consigning this tape. But, I am about to buy the new Baby Van Gogh, so I really do like the products from this company--just not this particular tape.

My son started watching Baby Einstein when he was 2 months old and loves it! Although I don't feel that television is good for a baby these videos are great! We received the other videos, Baby Mozart and Baby Bach, as gifts and he enjoys them as well. I prefer the Einstein and Mozart tapes above Bach. Baby Bach, although stimulating with a nice soundtrack, seems a bit slow and is more focused on showcasing the creator's daughters. If you are looking for a stimulating, educational set of videos for your baby than these are it! They may seem a bit "homemade" but all three videos promote learning through the use of foreign language, bold colors, the use of cause and effect, and repetition which are enhanced by the great classical music tracks. Everything I've ever researched on child development is used very well in these tapes. I recently purchased Baby Shakespeare and Baby Webster, although my son is still a little young for them yet, and am looking forward to Baby Van Gogh!

I found Baby Neptune to be one of the better Einstein videos. No annoying scenes of Julie's children trying to be cutesy (something that was a problem in Baby Bach), and plenty of "action" that keeps baby intrigued. I didn't find the frequent change of scenery bothersome, more importantly my baby didn't seem to have a problem with it.

The music is enjoyable as usual, the puppets were fun to watch, they even brought back the silly duck with the red scarf that was featured in Baby Beethoven. It's great to see your baby recognize the characters from previous releases.

There were children interlaced throughout, but nothing like Baby Santa or Baby Bach. You can tell Disney is trying to fine-tune the videos / DVD, and they did a good job with this one. This has a great balance of beautiful scenery, fun and silly toys, and nice music. I give this a thumbs up.

My baby started watching this when he was 3 months old and just loves it! I wish I had gotten it even sooner! It shows bright colorful images which really caught his attention. Counting and nursery rhymes are recited in numerous foreign languages. After watching it for just a few days, he recognized certain parts and he smiled, laughed and screeched in delight! A month later I began repeating the nursery rhymes and counting and he thought that was great too. Julie Clark, the creator of this video, had taped her daughter on this video at the end and I think my son is in love with her, he always smiles when she appears. She has put out 2 other videos called Baby Bach and Baby Mozart which are also fabulous! No, I'm not getting paid to write this, it's just that my son enjoys these so much I just had to share my opinion. He is 8 months old now and still loves them! The price of the video on www.amazon.com is great, I paid a lot more for them at the mall.