In the 1920’s a man by the name of Charles Ponzi pulled off a swindle on innocent investors by taking so much money it was known throughout the US as a Ponzi Scam. The big question here is; are advertisers pulling a Ponzi Scam on us to trust their products? A few years ago, a new market started known as the “Baby Video Market” this market claimed to parents that it would increase a baby`s IQ and language development; only if they let their baby`s watch either Brainy Baby or Baby Einstein. However, despite the claims of these companies, they made millions of dollars on lowering development skills early in a toddler’s life. This was proven in a Washington study that exposed babies to these videos; when exposed to the videos the babies had lost language skills such as babbling and cooing, things that babies who did not watch the videos could do. The study was published in the Journal of Pediatrics, saying that children that are one to five year olds should not be exposed to any form of screen time such as these videos. Instead of these videos, playful interaction with a baby is the most important part of their development; however, society now views playing with a baby in public as embarrassing and or disturbing so what is our answer…Baby Mozart of course! However, playing with a baby teaches them social skills needed later on in life such as trust, politeness, and emotional development if we expose them to screen time however, they will learn not to only trust mom but to trust the television.

Can we trust a television to take care of a baby; will it change diapers or help it sleep at night? After all, President Bush said the creator and founder of Baby Einstein was, “The best example of entrepreneurship in the country” so is our own government, a government based on justice and protection, telling us that scamming both parents and children is just and that our own television set is a good mentor for our children? Sure television shows like Sesame Street and any show on Discovery Chanel can teach us a few things; but letting a television become a baby-sitter is impeding to a child`s development as a person. Think about all the commercials and messages a child sees in one episode of Fairly Odd Parents. Not only is the child learning that they should believe that getting what you want is okay and that parents and teenagers are ignorant and evil; but they also learn that it’s okay to eat that processed cheese-burger, or to beg your mom and dad for that Harry Potter wand with light-up action.

Now that President Bush is not in office and the FCC is becoming stronger as a government agency, we are now realizing to the fact that the Baby Video Market is nothing but a swindle even though Disney CEO Bob Iger said that the University of Washington study based on these videos was fraudulent and untrue. However, the founder of the Baby Einstein issued a statement that the founder of the CFCC Susan Linn, the organization that first spotted the fraud, was dishonest in their campaign to refund the videos because they did not have any proof. Finally, with the Journal of Pediatrics on their side, they finally have proof. Proof that the most important part of a baby`s life is interaction and play, which none of these videos can provide for a child even though 20-million copies of these videos are sold each year to parents. Moreover, babies who play are more likely to learn social-skills than babies who watch the videos and or have a TV in their bedroom. Therefore, can we trust or self’s and our children, or can we trust a television to take care of our future, babies.