DUPED

Disney Offers Refunds on Baby Einstein

No evidence educational product makes babies smarter.

Parents now have yet another excuse why their child isn't an honor student. In what is widely regarded as an admission that the Baby Einstein video series is ineffective in boosting young children's IQs, Disney is offering a refund on copies of the ultra-popular DVDs. Disney already dropped the word "educational" from marketing materials after complaints to the Federal Trade Commission that pediatricians actually advised against any screen time for small children, and the company faced the prospect of a class-action lawsuit if it refused to compensate parents. Disney's announcement of new refund offers did not directly address the lawsuit threat, but Baby Einstein Co. Vice President Susan McLain told The New York Times in a statement that, "Fostering parent-child interaction always has and always will come first at The Baby Einstein Company, and we know that there is an ongoing discussion about how that interaction is best promoted." Less than three years ago, the company's founder, Julie Aigner-Clark, was a guest of honor at President George W. Bush's State of the Union address, where she earned a prominent mention in his speech.