I was checking out some of the blogs I read regularly and this caught my eye: Breaking News – Baby Einstein is issuing full refunds on their DVDs (from Cool Mom Picks). What? Why? Are they leaking some sort of poisonous gas when my kids watch them???
It turns out that the refund is part of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. I guess, somewhere along the way, Disney was asked to recant the claim that the Baby Einstein videos were educational to children. Since then members of the CCFC has been pressuring Disney to offer reimbursements to Baby Einstein customers…assuming these customers felt they were wronged by Disney’s claims.
You can see all the reimbursement details and how to claim your refund here.
I’m not sure what to think about this. I mean it’s great that Disney is stepping up and offering good customer service. And, sure, the Baby Einstein dvds probably shouldn’t be labeled as “educational”, but really? Did parents really buy these videos thinking their children would become geniuses?
We have a handful of the Baby Einstein videos and my girls love them. They love the animals and they love the music. The videos did actually help facilitate them learning different animals but, more importantly, those videos bought me 10 minutes to take a peaceful shower! And it’s really nice to have my kids watching videos that don’t have cartoon characters talking in very loud voices or some weird guy running around in an orange jump suit and a furry orange hat!
Yes, I’ve purchased Baby Einstein dvds that I wasn’t thrilled with. There was a languages one that was really annoying to me and I sold it at a garage sale. So, sure, it would have been nice to get a refund on that one. But for the most part these dvds are great in comparison to some other options out there.
And never once did I expect my kid to solve some crazy mathematical problem or become musical prodigies because they watched some mouse puppets throwing flour at each other. If anything I think I should be awarded some sort of ‘pain and suffering’ prize for having to listen to the whiney voice of Caillou and my daughter mimicking him!
What do you think? Are you happy with Disney being pressured into this refund or are you just fine with getting 10 minutes of peace while your kids watch that non-educational Baby Einstein video?
February 13th, 2010 on 3:09 pm
I am always searching online for articles that can help me. Thank you
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February 25th, 2010 on 6:14 am
That was a different thought track. I admire your quality that you put into your writing . Please do move forward with more like this.
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March 15th, 2010 on 3:51 am
Good read … headline catchy … good points, some of which I have learned along the way as well (humility, grace, layoff the controversial stuff). Will share with my colleagues at work as we begin blogging from a corporate perspective. Thanks!
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