I know this is a touchy subject and I certainly don't claim to have the answer. But I think, like many other issues, what it really comes down to is the parents. I just read this article about Baby Einstein videos and how they can cause more harm than good: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1650352,00.html?cnn=yes.

I admit that my kids probably watch more tv than they should. Alex probably shouldn't be watching any tv at all considering that he's under 2. But, much of what he watches are Baby Einstein videos. He particularly loves the "animals" ones - Baby Neptune (fish & sealife), World Animals (animals from around the world) and Baby Noah (explores animals from different ecosystems through a Noah theme but is not Christian). While he watches them, I name the animals for him and comment on them (i.e. "Look at all the pretty colors of those macaws! They're blue and red..."). So now, he can name many of them himself and Marc can name every single one of them. How many 4 year olds can identify a wombat or the difference between a lorakeet and a macaw? Or know what an uluru is?

If a kid isn't just sitting in front of the tv by themselves, passively watching pictures on the screen, isn't it possible that there is some redeeming value in kids' programming?