The Age has an article debunking DVDs that purport to help your baby become a genius.

Clever marketing is all I can say. The Sales and Marketing Professional asks "What is it most Parents feel guilty about not giving their Children enough of?" Time! So some clever person comes up with a conscience soothing product - The Baby Einstein DVD.

While modern parents are restrained from spending a lot of time talking to and being with their children because of: The House, The Boat, The Car and every other repayment that causes them to slave at work for 12 hrs a day. The Personal Development Industry gives them a false sense of "It's OK I'm not able to spend a significant amount of time with my child because I got a DVD that I can pop on and make them magically smarter".

My parents generation referred to the TV as the "Idiot Box" I wonder how all of a sudden - with the addition of a DVD player - it's become the "The Oracle of Knowledge"?