Facts

    * In 2004, the child education industry was worth $4.8 billion.
    * A search on Amazon for “Baby sign language books” yields 202 titles.
    * The American Association of Pediatrics says you shouldn’t let your child watch TV before the age of 2.
    * In 2009, Disney announced that it would offer a refund for all Baby Einstein videos. The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood sees the refund      
      offer"as an acknowledgment by the leading baby video company that baby videos are not educational".
    * Linda Acredolo founded “Baby Signs” in 2003, an all-inclusive learning tool to help parents and adults teach signing to babies.
    * A University of Washingtonstudy found that with every hour per day spent watching baby DVDs and videos, infants learned six to eight fewer new
      vocabulary words than babies who never watched the videos.
    * The same study found that by three months, 40% of babies are regular viewers of DVDs, videos or television; by the time they are two years old, almost
      90% are spending two to three hours each day in front of a screen.
    * The review, “Mozart Effect, Schmozart Effect” by the journal Intelligence discredits the popular idea that listening to classical music can enhance babies
       intelligence.

Links to sources


The Childhood Affirmations Program: http://www.childhoodaffirmations.com/general/child/5-6/language-1.html

Parents finding benefit in teaching babies sign language as well as speech: http://www.philly.com/philly/health_and_science/20100719_Parents_finding_benefit_in_teaching_babies_sign_language_as_well_as_speech.html

Dr. Vic Strasburger, professor of pediatrics at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine and a spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1650352,00.html#ixzz0uWqzcNnS

BizyMoms: http://www.bizymoms.com/job-career/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-sign%20language.html
ITVBabySign: http://itvbabysign.com/faq/

Babies and Sign Language: http://www.babies-and-sign-language.com/baby-sign-benefits.html

Linda Acredolo, PhD and Susan Goodwyn, PhD: (Via Email) and through her research here: https://www.babysigns.com/index.cfm?id=64 and here https://www.babysigns.com/index.cfm?id=114

Khermouch, G. Branier Babies? Maybe. Big Sales? Definitely. BusinessWeek.
Business Week Online: http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/feb2003/nf20030219_6058_db035.htm

Kaiser Family Foundation: Parents, Media, and Public Policy.

Meet the Fockers: Universal Pictures

Time Magazine: Baby Einsteins: Not so Smart After All: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1650352,00.html