Baby food for the brain? (Baby Mozart Video + Baby Mozart CD (DVD))

Member Name: darkman2005

Product:	Baby Mozart Video + Baby Mozart CD (DVD)
Date:	16/01/05 (430 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great music, Relaxing, Multiple viewings OK

Disadvantages: Poor Production Values, Juilie Clark, Julie Clark's kids

It’s become somewhat of a middle-class cliché to suggest that Mozart’s music aids a baby’s development. And when you are subjected to the nauseating ramblings of Julie Clark, founder of the Baby Einstein Company, you may well think you have joined a bizarre cult for the Reprogramming of Children. In the absence of the opportunity to throttle Ms Clark through your TV set, you may feel inspired to throw the baby monitor through the TV set instead.

However given a few plays of Baby Mozart, you will still the need to kick Ms Clark, but for a different reason; that you didn’t have the idea yourself.

Researchers have demonstrated what every parent already knows - infants love music – but there has never been a definitive way of testing the intellectual effect of Mozart’s music on babies. There was a study done in California on college students that showed on a standard intelligence test, scores increased 8 or 9 points immediately after listening to Mozart’s Sonata for 2 Pianos. No such gain was achieved by listening to other relaxation aids. The researchers concluded that Mozart's music may cause "neural firing patterns in the brain," and that his musical structures the aid thinking process.

The theory as far as babies are concerned, is that music speaks to baby in a unique way. They are drawn into the rhythm and pattern of the music. They are invited to match its pitch or to move with its beat. Basically music stimulates the parts that other learning can’t reach. It’s a lovely notion, and given the rate that a baby’s mind develops in those early months, a parent could be forgiven for believing it.

"We believe babies learn best when interacting with a loving parent or caregiver," reads a company statement on the Baby Einstein web site. "We strive to create products that encourage and support such dynamic interaction." Well that may be the case, and the video may show enthusiastic carers pointing to the screen, but Baby Mozart isn’t a great interactive tool at all. Baby Mozart is a fantastic way of occupying your child’s head when you don’t have the energy yourself.

On first viewing Baby Mozart is colorful collection of badly shot objects. The whole production looks like it been produced in Julie Clark’s living room from the proceeds of one month’s child benefit payment. However the images immediately captivate baby. Our first child was entranced from 3 or 4 months. When you dissect the film more closely you see bracketed themes. A revolving pendulum cuts to a revolving solar system. The faces of animals are cut together in an amazing cross section of life. Every image is timed to the beat. After half a dozen viewings the images work their magic on you as well. It’s incredibly relaxing.

So did it make our child smarter? Well of course, but he is the smartest child on the face of the planet any way! What can be said is that this video is a great assistance if you need 15 minutes to catch up on chores or to just catch your breath. And the style of the video will help your child digest the rest of Ms Clark’s Disney-backed empire. There are a number of these videos in the Baby Einstein series but we wouldn’t recommend buying more than a few of them. There is a limit to how much you can stand of seeing Ms Clark’s kids paraded in elephant suits. Numbers Nursery genuinely helped our toddler gain an interest in counting. But for building recognition of the alphabet, the Letterland series of books is outstanding.

As Baby Einstein admit themselves, nothing can beat real interaction with your baby to help them learn. But compared to 4 men in colored suits jumping around the 18th hole of a golf course, Baby Mozart is a guilt-free and pleasant time-out. It may even help sort your head out too.

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