I didn’t really want to fight. I’ve spent the past six years fighting for my life, and now I find myself fighting for my reputation. But cancer makes you think about words like legacy.
For the past two years, I’ve watched my work be misconstrued by a small group of researchers and advocates with an agenda. The traditional media has helped them. Today I’m reaching out to other moms—the same ones who helped me to build my business thirteen years ago—to help me spread my message.
Baby Einstein does not hurt babies. It exposes them to classical music and poetry and art. I never claimed that putting a child in front of a video for hours on end would make them smarter, and any parent who would believe such a thing should not be a parent at all. As you probably know, some researchers have said that any television viewing by babies or young children is harmful, and because of this my name and reputation have suffered. I made videos and wrote books that exposed babies to Mozart and Shakespeare and VanGogh, and because of that I’m being accused of harming children.
I don’t own Baby Einstein anymore, but today I filed an open-records complaint in Washington state court against the University of Washington. The ‘researchers’ (I use that term loosely) who conducted the proposed study have refused to share their raw data, and I believe it’s because their claims that my videos harm children are invalid. I want to clear my name. I’m proud of what I made.
Whether you’re pro or anti-video for young children, I’m sure you’re pro-mom. Welcome to the 21st century. Most people have televisions in their houses, and most babies are exposed to it. And most people would agree that a child is better off listening to Beethoven while watching images of a puppet than seeing any reality show that I can think of.
I welcome your questions and comments. You can find more information on what’s up at www.aignerclark/newsroom.
Julie Aigner-Clark
