It’s All in the Marketing
“Properly packaged, you can sell anything to an American.”
–Frank Zappa
New parents can be suckers for any product that claims to make their children smarter, safer, or healthier. And I can understand why. Who doesn’t want to make their child all that he or she can be? Unfortunately, manufacturers know this, and, in many cases, take advantage of this well-meaning instinct. From CDs and DVDs that purport to make your baby smarter, to gadgets that claim an inside knowledge of every baby’s woe, there’s always someone trying to make a quick buck through exploitive marketing.
In the ’90s, Mozart CDs were a must-buy for any baby shower. Parents were told that playing classical music for children under the age of 3 would increase a child’s IQ. The “Mozart effect” became a widespread movement. In fact, the governor of Georgia initiated a program to give classical CDs to every newborn in the state (using tax dollars, of course), and Florida required state-run schools to play classical music for toddlers every day.
The claim was later debunked. Both the test and the testing methodology were criticized. As it turns out, the subjects of the study were college students, not babies, and there was no proof whatsoever that the music caused a lasting increase in their IQ. Any effects observed only lasted a very short time (averaging ten to fifteen minutes). Subsequently, other researchers have not even been able to duplicate the temporary results of the original study.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, however, the media ran with the initial results. Articles appeared everywhere and the study results were spun to mean Mozart was good for the brain. An enterprising music teacher trademarked the phrase “Mozart Effect” and started generating books and CDs under that brand. The trend caught on like wildfire with parents–despite clear evidence that any benefits of the “effect” ranged from non-existent to temporary and, again, were never even tested on babies. Classical music can be wonderful and soothing, and babies may even respond positively to it. However, inundating your dear offspring with Wolfgang Amadeus will not put him or her on to the fast track to Harvard.
A few years later, videos from companies called Baby Einstein and Brainy Baby became all the rage. Titles like “Baby Wadsworth,” which claimed to foster the development of a baby’s speech, and “Peek-a-Boo,” which helped babies learn object permanence, cause and effect, and language skills, seemed like a way to give your baby a leg up on everyone else. Mothers could now sit their child in front of one of these DVDs and breathe a sigh of relief that they were educating while entertaining. After all, the titles alone must mean that there is some intellectual benefit, right?
Nope. Turns out “Baby Einstein” and the like won’t make your baby, uh, Einstein. There is absolutely no evidence that watching these (or any other) videos will make your baby smarter. In fact, the research shows quite the opposite. The “edutainment” thrust upon these children may have a detrimental effect because of the accompanying reduction in interaction time with their parents. The result may be a delay in language development. (Disney, the owner of the “Baby Einstein” franchise was not thrilled over this news.) This is one reason why the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no television time for children under two.
The deception in the advertising of these videos led a children’s advocacy group to file a complaint with the FTC in 2006, asserting that these companies are misleading parents about the educational benefits of their products. Both companies now encourage parents to watch the videos along with their baby and interact together throughout. Considering many parents use videos as a small break for themselves, this advice seems a bit unrealistic. And, unless they change the product names completely, parents are still likely to believe that videos like “Baby DaVinci” and “Left Brain” are positive influences on infants–despite research to the contrary.
The latest cure-all for parents is the infant communication movement. You might recall Priscilla Dunstan’s appearance on Oprah’s show to promote her ability to translate baby language (or what some refer to as “banguage”). The Dunstan System claims a newborn will make one of five sounds to communicate its needs, and parents just need to learn these few sounds to guarantee a happy baby. Taking this theory one step further is the WhyCry Baby Crying Analyzer. This $99 electronic gizmo will hear your baby cry, analyze that sound, and then give a digital read-out of what your child needs. Sounds amazing, doesn’t it?
The problem is that no real study of this theory has ever been done. A study of the Dunstan System was planned with Brown University, but later cancelled for consumer tests with mothers and smaller group observations. The WhyCry site says their gadget has been “clinically tested” and “tried out in nursery schools with completely satisfactory results.” This doesn’t exactly instill a lot of confidence, especially considering their results may not agree with my own interpretation of what my child needs. If you sense your baby is hungry and the communication system tells you tired, who do you believe? I haven’t tried either product, so I have no empirical evidence to offer. There may be parents out there who have had success with this method. But, since I can’t find any real science behind it, I remain skeptical that these communication theories work with all babies.
My advice to new parents: save your money from products like these. You’ll need that cash for diapers.
Erica Said,
February 21, 2009 @ 10:42 pm
Ok I know a cry isn’t the most straight forward communication, but if a baby hasn’t been fed in a couple hours…
Seriously, a machine to decipher human cries? Are we that out of touch with reading emotions and applying some simple process of elimination?
Jimmy Said,
February 21, 2009 @ 11:16 pm
As I understand it, the “Mozart Effect” owes its roots to Albert Einstein. An avid violinist, Einstein was particularly fond of Mozart. He claimed that Mozart helped him to think. However it was PLAYING Mozart not LISTENING to Mozart that had this salubrious effect on his cognitive skills.
dean cameron Said,
February 22, 2009 @ 12:59 am
I sent the following email to info@whycry.com
Can you explain “tried out in nursery schools with completely satisfactory results” and the survey among first time parents “obtaining their full acceptance”?
1) Results of what?
2) Acceptance of what?
I know you don’t mean to be misleading.
When you claim “98% reliability”, does that just mean that the device won’t break?
I’m curious. As an investor, my company is always looking for tools to help new parents. It seems like you might want to be more specific about your product as there are so many charlatans out their trying to hawk their bogus inventions on gullible 1st time parents who only want the best for their children and aren’t thinking as critically as they might otherwise.
I know you wouldn’t want to take advantage of them, would you?
Perhaps more testing would separate your product from evil people who cynically exploit others.
I would love to hear about those plans. I may be able to help, though I’m sure you have more than enough assistance where science is concerned.
Julie Said,
February 22, 2009 @ 7:38 am
Thanks for this post! When I was pregnant, one of my coworkers was always asking me if I played Mozart for my unborn baby, because he said there were tons of studies that showed that made the baby smarter. I didn’t see how that could be true, so I decided it was b.s. Then I did a little reading. It was b.s.!
But I guess it doesn’t matter if it’s b.s., because I have all these toys now that play Mozart. Toy manufacturers know that people hold onto the first study and don’t care about the debunking study.
I finally just took the noisemaker thing out of our Tiny Love playmat, because it would just bleat off key, warped, low battery powered Mozart tunes until I felt like I was trapped in the back of a haunted ice cream truck and might lose my mind. Without the Mozart maker, the playmat is great.
We also have this octopus that apparently teaches the baby colors if you squeeze its tentacles, and it plays Mozart if you squeeze its head. At least that toy has a better sound system so the Mozart doesn’t sound distorted and weird. The tunes are actually catchy. But we always find ourselves accidentally turning on the music when we’re just picking up the toy–always at the worst times, like when the boy is going down for a nap. Then you have to quickly press a tentacle to stop the music midstream and get the thing to say, “Yellow,” and then be quiet.
As for Baby Einstein, a lot of people have asked me if I have those videos. And really, their tone is one of surprise, something along the lines of, “Wait, you DON’T have Baby Einstein videos?” My husband and I both agreed we wouldn’t show any TV to the boy until he’s two, because that was the AAP recommendation. The hilarious thing is that my husband works on children’s television shows.
I’m always surprised at how many people have the TV on when kids under two are in the room. No judgement, but if our baby sees a TV, it’s like a giant, sucking magnet, and he can do nothing but watch it. We were in a restaurant the other day and he watched most of the movie Big Night on their flat screen. Without sound. Maybe it’s the newness of it, so if we had the TV on all the time, it would just become white noise. But that really sort of bothers me, too. Too much for a little brain to handle.
So we do no TV at all. Then after he goes to bed, we immediately get our Tivo fix while eating ice cream. It’s basically a forbidden wonderland after bed time.
Valis Said,
February 23, 2009 @ 12:40 am
When my wife fell pregnant with our first child we made the decision not to have a television in the house. Fifteen years later we still don’t have a TV set! Instead, our house is filled with thousands of books. We also listen to classical music as a matter of course.
NYCSkeptic Said,
February 23, 2009 @ 10:46 am
I for one can absolutely attest to the truth of a “Mozart Effect”. As the proud father of a 2 week old baby boy, after a prolonged crying fit at 2 in the morning, I’ve found that playing a Mozart CD calmed me down a great deal. That’s a real “Mozart Effect”.
As for the kid, he seems to prefer Japanese Hip-Hop.
Jodi Said,
February 23, 2009 @ 11:33 am
NYCSkeptic, that made me laugh out loud. Well said.
This post was conceived because I stumbled across the WhyCry Baby Monitor on amazon.com. Needless to say, that shock of that spurred me on to write about it and other baby products. We may have to do a follow-up with the dialogue Dean engages in with the company.
I would love to say that my house is a no TV house when the kids are awake, but it didn’t end up that way. I was careful with my first daughter, who was mesmerized by TV (and still is), and not careful with my second daughter, who never cares whether the TV is on or not. I limit what and how much they watch, and they get plenty of adult interaction and outdoor time. They’ll never have TVs in their bedrooms, though, that’s for sure.
DEZ Said,
February 24, 2009 @ 2:43 pm
I never played Mozart for my daughter when she was a baby. She prefered Tori Amos. She didn’t watch TV until around the age of two when we happened upon Sesame Street and she was hooked on the Count. When she was fussy, we went to Home Depot or Lowe’s so she could watch the ceiling fans spin above her. She’s 10 now and reads at an 8th grade level. I wonder if home improvement stores could market the calming effects and brain enhancing qualities of whirring fans. Disney would not be happy : )
Martin Baby Blog » Diaper Daily News - 2/25/09 Said,
February 25, 2009 @ 6:52 pm
[...] It’s All in the Marketing (Rational Moms) [...]
New old dad Said,
March 5, 2009 @ 1:48 pm
The Whycrybaby device sounds like an old Simpson’s episode where Homer’s long-lost brother invented a baby translator. One sound it interpreted was a short, disappointed-sounding grunt – “I have soiled myself. How embarrassing”.
Does this miracle device interpret the same sound? Because we parents aren’t nearly smart enough to be able to tell this via our sense of smell.
Mothers For Women’s Lib Said,
April 26, 2009 @ 12:47 pm
[...] It’s All in the Marketing “The problem is that no real study of this theory has ever been done. A study of the Dunstan System was planned with Brown University, but later cancelled for consumer tests with mothers and smaller group observations. The WhyCry site says their gadget has been “clinically tested” and “tried out in nursery schools with completely satisfactory results.” This doesn’t exactly instill a lot of confidence, especially considering their results may not agree with my own interpretation of what my child needs. If you sense your baby is hungry and the communication system tells you tired, who do you believe? I haven’t tried either product, so I have no empirical evidence to offer. There may be parents out there who have had success with this method. But, since I can’t find any real science behind it, I remain skeptical that these communication theories work with all babies. My advice to new parents: save your money from products like these. You’ll need that cash for diapers.” [...]
Sunday Reading List « Mothers For Women’s Lib Said,
April 26, 2009 @ 12:50 pm
[...] It’s All in the Marketing “The problem is that no real study of this theory has ever been done. A study of the Dunstan System was planned with Brown University, but later cancelled for consumer tests with mothers and smaller group observations. The WhyCry site says their gadget has been “clinically tested” and “tried out in nursery schools with completely satisfactory results.” This doesn’t exactly instill a lot of confidence, especially considering their results may not agree with my own interpretation of what my child needs. If you sense your baby is hungry and the communication system tells you tired, who do you believe? I haven’t tried either product, so I have no empirical evidence to offer. There may be parents out there who have had success with this method. But, since I can’t find any real science behind it, I remain skeptical that these communication theories work with all babies. My advice to new parents: save your money from products like these. You’ll need that cash for diapers.” [...]
Pregnancy Audio Belts Said,
September 30, 2009 @ 6:29 pm
[...] we’ve discussed on Rational Moms before, companies aren’t just out there to help expecting parents; they’re also out there to [...]
More Products to Waste Your Money On Said,
November 18, 2009 @ 8:03 pm
[...] basically the Dunstan Baby Language system for your iPhone. We already talked about this on Rational Moms. Not much (if any) science, all marketing. Save your [...]