Baby Einstein - Baby's Favorite Places - First Words Around Town

As a counselor for families with young babies, I have had the opportunity to review a number of language programs (both sign and verbal) for preverbal babies and babies who are just beginning to verbalize.

As with Baby Wordsworth the production quality of this DVD is excellent, however the words and signs presented are not appropriate for either preverbal babies who are trying to communicate basic wants and needs or toddlers who are beginning to speak. Instead of offering words and signs such as eat, drink, milk, more, mommy, daddy, baby etc. - this program presents bank, florist, bakery, etc. Not only is the choice of words and signs questionable but the visual distinctions between scenes such as cafe, restaurant, and market is difficult for a baby to understand.

The format is also geared towards older children. Five words and signs are presented in rapid succession and then extended scenes for each word are shown. Then the same five words and signs are offered again by a child of four years or older. In addition, the signs themselves are difficult for young babies as most of the signs are combinations of more than one sign such as "ice cream" plus "store."

There are no babies signing or speaking in this production and no tutorial for parents of hearing babies who are teaching their babies to use sign language. I recommend the "My Baby Can Talk" series to teach either sign language or first spoken words to babies.

I had to get the new Baby Einstein DVD for my 19 month old daughter. She loves BE and I knew she would enjoy Baby's Favorite Places.

Her vocabulary has expanded because of how interactive these videos are for young toddlers and babies. She didn't just stare at the screen blankly. Instead, she was trying to imitate some of the signs for the words and laughed at the puppets.

If your child is familiar with BE, don't miss out on this DVD because it's one of their best. It's very much like Baby Wordsworth and has the signs to go with the words. I enjoyed seeing my daughter make connections with what she already knows such as looking outside for our fence as the word fence was introduced.

This video is interactive, fun, and is just right for the short attention span of a little one. I have a feeling this will be one of her favorites.

I have had the pleasure of teaching my hearing grandchildren to sign and I was looking forward to adding this video to our signing library. I was disappointed with both the format and the word selection. The format does not hold the attention of my grandchildren and the words are of marginal interest to them - market, bakery, florist, etc. My grandchildren are more interested in signs for words such as milk, eat, more, all done, mommy, daddy, baby, etc. Perhaps this video is more appropriate for older children?

My grandchildren have learned more than forty signs from the My Baby Can Talk videos - they are simply enchanted by these videos. Even my older grandchildren continue to watch these videos with their younger siblings and they all interact with the videos while they watch. I would recommend this series for preverbal babies and babies who are beginning to speak.