Report: Benefits of 'Educational' Videos and Computer Games Remain to Be Seen

More research is needed to determine what effect video games, computer software and DVDs that are marketed as educational have on very young children, according to a report from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonprofit group that examines health care issues.

The report says there's simply not enough scientific evidence to judge the benefits of educational products sold in the $100 million children's developmental video and DVD market. In addition, there's no government standard or definition for "educational."

As a result, the report says, parents are left to "their own personal experiences, recommendations from other parents or websites and the advertising and packaging of the products."

The Kaiser report examined the marketing claims and parental guidelines of 29 different videos, DVDs, computer software products and video games targeted at children 6 years old and younger. The report specifically said it was not "designed to assess the quality or effectiveness" of the products.

The report suggested that a key factor is how the products are used. It cited a statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics on the importance of "direct interactions with parents and other ... caregivers ... for healthy brain growth and the development of appropriate social, emotional and cognitive skills."

Yet most of the 11 DVDs examined "had an option of allowing the disc to be played continuously, looping back to the beginning automatically ... something seemingly designed to facilitate repeated independent viewing rather than parent-child co-viewing," the report said.

The Kaiser reviewers found that there were no independent scientific studies that either support or refute the claims made by marketers of any educational products for young children. Of the nine companies interviewed for the report, only one -- Sesame Workshop -- said it was involved in scientific research, and that was on its television show, "Sesame Street."

Companies said they did not conduct research because they did not believe it would increase sales, and so did not make sense economically, the Kaiser report said.