February 7, 2006
Article
So, here it is. A very good educational toy product that does not work with Windows Media Center 2004, but pretty well with just about any other DVD player.
InteracTV by Fisher-Price: Children’s television you can feel good about.
The Fisher-Price InteracTV DVD-based Learning System is a very simple concept, with very lofty goals. It is essentially nothing more than an oversized universal remote control for your DVD player and a collection of specialized interactive DVDs similar to Scene It? But what it accomplishes is so much more. The product actually has the potential to take one of our worst vices as a parent—allowing our children to watch television, and make it a virtue.
The innovative product uses existing technology, DVD players found in most homes, and programs that your child is already familiar with. These include: Dora the Explorer, SpongeBob, Scooby-Doo, and many more. As the program progresses, the characters ask your child a series of questions. This level of interactivity has been going on in children’s television for years, but now there is a distinct difference. Your child can answer back.
The packaging of the product indicates that the system allows children “to interact with their favorite characters and shows in a fun and educational way.” The curriculum includes about 100 learning questions that are included during each show. This supports the claim that this toy is focused on the child’s cognitive development skills. The box lists a variety of learning objectives that can be achieved as the child uses the toy. Perhaps even more important than these is the way this product can change the experience of television viewing for your child for years to come.
Jackson loves television.
My two and half year old son loves watching TV. He would watch TV all day long, every day! Early on in his television viewing we were amazed at how quickly he learned the names of characters on TV. He often knew names for programs that he had not even seen. Despite our best efforts to ban certain programs we didn’t like, Jackson was learning about them from storybooks, advertisements on other children’s T-shirts and sneakers, and talk amongst children at his daycare.
What is the harm in watching television? I did it. So did my wife. And we both seem relatively normal. We both even went to college and have respectable jobs. Television didn’t ruin our lives. Yet you hear so much negativity about children’s te