The first time I saw a Baby Einstein video I was babysitting for a friend of mine. They were going out to dinner and said I could go ahead and pop in the DVD for their son. When I did, I was so thoroughly bored and annoyed by the obnoxious images and sounds I almost stopped it right away. The only reason I didn't was because the little boy was hypnotized and seemed really happy. Then once I had kids of my own—despite my great distaste for the videos—we ended up getting a handful of them as gifts.

I know they are called Baby Einstein but I'm realistic about the service that the videos provide, which is mainly to  give parents a few minutes of freedom to shower, cook a meal, sweep the floor. You know, get something done! There are parents, though, who took the Einstein claim quite literally. One mom in particular felt so mislead by the Einstein claim that she sued Disney, the creators of the Baby Einstein brand. The lawsuit went nowhere but Disney put out a press release emphasizing their generous return policy. If you purchased Baby Einstein DVDs within a specific time frame, you can return them to Disney.

Think I'm being easy on Disney? Well, I think the Disney folks are being awful nice because I'm inclined to believe that anyone who thinks these videos are the secret to breeding genius is totally out of their mind.

What do you think about the whole Baby Einstein debate?