A new study by researchers at the University of Washington and Seattle Children’s Hospital Research Institute indicates that Baby DVDs like Baby Einstein and Brainy Baby actually hinder the Baby's development.

The scientists found that for every hour per day spent watching baby DVDs and videos, infants understood an average of six to eight fewer words than infants who did not watch them. Baby DVDs and videos had no positive or negative effect on the vocabularies on toddlers 17 to 24 months of age.

The most important fact to come from this study is there is no clear evidence of a benefit coming from baby DVDs and videos and there is some suggestion of harm,” said Frederick Zimmerman, lead author of the study and a UW associate professor of health services. “The bottom line is the more a child watches baby DVDs and videos the bigger the effect. The amount of viewing does matter.”

study was published today in the Journal of Pediatrics.
Read the full report on the University of Washington site.