One thing that amazes me when I visit friends who have young children is the stunning amount of cash they lay out on educational toys and videos. Parents will pay literally anything if they think their kids will learn something and get a head start over the competition. Companies take advantage of that need people have to be perfect parents and sell them every conceivable type of educational toy and video, at ridiculous prices.
But you can stop the vicious cycle of spending with…the Internet. Once your child has mastered Elmo’s Potty Time (let me know how it ends if you watch it all the way through, I stopped at Earl the fruit guy because he quite frankly creeped me out), give Kindersay a whirl. It shows pictures of things or letters and an actress (Christine Ghawi, who stars as Céline Dion in the CBC Canadian show Céline) says the words. It’s free and has no advertising. If you want to add in your own family pictures to customize the show, they charge $6/month.
The next time you’re too busy to actually spend time with your kid, just plop them down in front of the computer, fire up Kindersay and let them do their thing. They’ll grow up to be smart, considerate, well adjusted kids. I’m sure of it.