Average Rating: 
Rating:  - In praise of "Baby Einstein"
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.
Rating:  - it's ok...not my favorite
I had purchased Baby Mozart for my 4th child when he was 6 months old. He always enjoyed this video. When my 5th child was born we shared the video with her. She enjoyed it with the same enthusiam as her brother did. At 9 months I decided she needed some more of these videos...some variety. I selected Baby Einstein next. I really didn't compare it to all of the others before purchase...I wish I had. We enthusiastically put it in and my daughter did not react as enthusiastically as she always had with Baby Mozart. The language was boring in comparison to all the music and unique sounds on Baby Mozart. Immediately we purchased Baby Bach and my daughter was delighted! We alternate between Baby Bach and Baby Mozart, which are similar, but different. Ocasionally I will put Baby Einstein in for a change of pace. After reading the various reviews, I look forward to receiving other videos in the series to give my children a wider range of variety.
Rating:  - A video that stimulates baby's listening skills
My brother bought my daughter this tape when she was 9 months old and I wish that I had had it when she was born. Sixteen different languages are spoken (random nursery rhymes, the alphabet, numbers, etc. are recited) as various toys and everyday objects are shown. I found it strange at first, but my child was visibly drawn to it from the beginning. The only critism I have is that I am doubtful that the voices are spoken by native speakers as the video claims. My husband is French and he's sure that the voice speaking French does not belong to a native speaker. I don't know about the other languages but it leaves me wondering. Another remark is that once your child becomes mobile, her interests change very quickly and you shouldn't expect her to sit through the entire 30 minutes of the video. Nonetheless, watching the video with her and commenting on it can help her to develop her vocabulary.
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