What parent doesn’t want their child to get ahead in reading, learning new words, or math? At the same time, toy manufacturers take advantage of this desire and convince them that their toy is the one to accelerate a child’s skills or boost intelligence. Yet, with evidence showing the ineffectiveness of Baby Einstein, some are questioning the claims of baby toys with similar intentions.

Countless toys for babies and toddlers are geared toward learning new words, reading, math skills, and problem solving, but how many of them truly work? Researchers question the claims made by each manufacturer, but at the same time, nonbiased studies cannot be performed on every toy on the market. Additionally, proving that the particular toy increased or advanced a child’s skills is difficult.

How and if a toy works notwithstanding, marketing for educational baby toys is unregulated. As a result, manufacturers can make practically any claims – even improbable ones like Your Baby Can Read’s. About the lack of regulation, Russ Heimerich, spokesman for the California Department of Consumer Affairs, explained:

“Nobody checks the ads and says, ‘No, you can’t say that.’ That would be prior restraint. Unless it’s doing someone harm or grossly misleading, you have to give the benefit of the doubt to the people making the claim.”

If a parent wants to help their child learn new skills but doesn’t want to fall into the toy manufacturers’ traps, what can he or she do? The Early Years Institute President Dana Friedman recommends choosing simple toys and limiting computer and television screen time:

“Generally speaking, the simpler the toy, the more complex the play. The more complex the toy, the more simple the play. You want to find toys where children have options for what they do with it. If it’s a toy that can only be used in one way, don’t get it.”

Your baby is here, and as soon as it opens its eyes, it’s given an array of black, red, and white items, mirrors, noisy objects, and pictures of other children. This, after all, enhances your child’s vision, touch, and listening capabilities and prepared him or her for grasping, touching, and talking. Pretty soon, you and your child will be reading Shakespeare together and solving differential equations.

But do you even do those during your free time – or are you hoping that your child will get to them soon enough? A recent editorial in The Express Tribune seems to think that the latter is the case. The author goes on to detail how parents’ competition with other parents starts, essentially, as soon as the baby arrives. They talk about the various milestones their child reaches, hoping their baby is the first to walk or talk, and over time, this develops into the modern-day helicopter parents phenomena that have, literally and figuratively, descended on nearly every college campus, hoping their children are the best and the brightest – and stay that way, no matter what it takes.

But should parental competition get to this, and what’s the best strategy for stopping and, basically, laying off and calming down? While the author of the Express Times article mentions that this competition and resulting pressure stresses the child out too much, the solution is letting children develop and reach milestones at their own pace. Basically, put down the Baby Einstein and your kid will be fine in the long run – she may even get into Harvard.

Of course, such a notion is easier said than done, and not joining in with other parents discussing their children’s development may seem like you’re distancing yourself. But is risking your child being burned out by the time he or she is five the best strategy for parenting?

What’s the hottest baby toy of the moment? Some items are classic and never disappear, such as mobiles, mirrors, and rattles, while others come and go. The use of baby educational software, such as Baby Einstein and Your Baby Can Read, is on the way out, especially as multiple studies indicate that such products aren’t effective in building a child’s vocabulary. Rather, the most requested toy of the moment is an activity mat, also known as a baby gym. According to a press release by shopping search engine Twenga, online searches for baby gyms and mats have increased from 116 to 300 percent.

The trend, according to the press release, is a shift from brain power-boosting toys to those that stimulate the child’s senses (a prerequisite for nearly all baby toys) and assist with coordination. On a smaller level, an activity seat, such as this one by online retailer Baby and Me Boutique, keeps the child in one place and has several smaller toys in various bright colors and textures and with sound capabilities for the baby to touch.

Larger activity mats give the baby more space to move and experience colors, sounds, and textures. In many cases, activity mats allow the child to be placed on his or her back – or on the stomach, if he or she is already rolling – and touch the several toys in the gym. The mat on which the child is placed often makes sounds when the baby moves and also has varied textures and colors. The detachable toys, additionally, make several sounds and have textures for the child to feel.

Educational or stimulation toys for babies develop the senses of sight, hearing, and touch. Such toys are designed in black, white, and red combinations or primary colors and make different sounds when the child touches the toy. Additionally, the child touches the surface of the toy and experiences several textures. The sound feature, in particular, starts teaching the child the relationship of cause and effect.

When most parents think of learning or educational toys, most think of flashcards and vocabulary-building computer games. However, the selection of toys and games for infants and toddlers varies from traditional “educational” items. “Learning” for the first three years means acquiring skills and stimulating the senses. Toys and games target these areas, from a baby building up its vision and hearing to toddlers acquiring fine and gross motor skills. Such abilities can’t be acquired through a computer program or television show (despite what Baby Einstein would like you to believe), and hands-on is the best way to learn at this age.

A recent article discusses some points for picking out learning toys. Brain development from birth to three years is one significant point addressed by many learning toys, as children want to explore the world and acquire new skills at this age – although they might not realize it. The toys should help not only with learning new skills but also help with building confidence, creativity, emotions, coordination, social skills, and language. All give babies and toddlers a fun way to learn and develop.

As far as picking out baby education toys is concerned, there are no “right” toys to get, although you may see software advertised from time to time. Baby educational toys start at the level in which a child is building up his or her senses. Such toys for developing vision, for example, may include black, white, and red images. Those for texture may be designed with varying surfaces.

But, beyond enhancing an infant’s five senses, toddlers and preschool age children have more physical and social skills to develop. Although a blog post can’t get into the depth of such a field, a true educational toy will assist with a child practicing a skill. A set of blocks, for example, may help develop coordination and problem solving skills, as well as shape and color recognition and organizational skills. I bet you never thought that a basic set of blocks could have that many skills attached to it, right?

Two recent articles question the validity of baby educational videos, particularly the Baby Einstein series. The purpose of such DVDs is to enhance a child’s vocabulary between the period of 12 to 24 months, although children, around 18 months, naturally begin picking up words more. Although sometimes these videos turn out to be more effective for toddlers and children under six years of age, they’re pretty much useless, according to these articles, for the age group for which they’re intended.

One story, published in Time recently details a study done by the University of California at Riverside. Researchers had several children, according to the article, watch a Baby Wordsworth DVD everyday for six weeks. At the end of this time, the children were observed again for any changes, particularly the words pushed by the DVD, and the researchers saw no change in the vocabulary. One possible reason? Overstimulation causing paralysis to the child’s brain. The better alternative is to have someone – yourself or another adult – interact with your child, as babies apparently learn better from a live speaker using repetitive speech techniques.

Another article questions why parents buy these videos at all, particularly when a few studies have shown that, after watching these DVDs, children actually learn slower. Perhaps this could a result of the paralysis effect of overstimulation? In either case, children didn’t pick up on new words and actually learned new ones slower than those not exposed to the videos.

Be it Baby Einstein or another series of educational language videos, but these videos designed to make a child get ahead may push a child back farther. Children should be allowed to learn at their own paces and, as researchers have seen by these videos, such tools designed to enhance a child’s knowledge end up being detrimental.