I was approached by Aimee's Babies, a child development company, to review their First Year Milestones DVD. I was excited and accepted their offer. The first thing that I noticed when I opened the package was that the cover didn't have any children of color on it. My initial thought, this company has limited potential buyers. There is absolutely nothing on this DVD cover that would make a women of color stop and take notice. My next thought, would it have ethnic babies in the video. People are drawn to products that they can relate to.
I decided to keep an open mind and see what the video was about. The DVD is broken down by chapters. It focuses on various stages of development from the ages of newborn, 3 months, 6 - 9 months, and 12 months. Each stage focuses on the 5 senses, touch, smell, taste, sight and sound. The various stages teach you to understand reflexes, color, stimulation, balance, and social development. It was quite informative throughout all 4 stages.
Lets start with newborns - It teaches the importance of music. It was nice to know that it could be any type of music and not necessarily Mozart. It also stated that babies see things in black and white up to 3 months. At that stage red becomes a great stimulus for baby. It stressed the importance of touching and massaging your baby, swaddling him or her, and allowing them to become familiar with your scent. The DVD encouraged mothers to alternate sides during feeding so the baby could be stimulated from different directions.
The DVD moved on to 3 months - The focus was the same, the senses, tummy time, stimulation, and balance. At this stage the importance of talking to your baby, using wrist and ankle rattles, and implementing at least 20 minutes of tummy time per day was stressed. Using mirrors was also emphasized. The DVD demonstrated an exercise that I would never try. It required the mom to place their sitting baby in a large blanket while she swings it from side to side. The exercise was for helping the with baby's balance. I personally wouldn't try it and neither would I suggest it. I was quite surprised that someone would be encouraged to try it.
At 6 - 9 months, the baby's weight should practically double. They should be able to see more colors, notice themselves more, crawl or move around while holding on to things. It still focused on the senses and stimulation.
The DVD moved on to the 12 month stage. Here babies were pulling themselves up, crawling, climbing stairs, walking and in jump ups. The DVD encouraged moms to allow their babies to walk bare foot, use soft sole shoes or grip socks. It stated that babies could start walking between 12 and 18 months.
My opinion after reviewing the DVD, it contained detailed, educational material with everyday moms and their babies at various stages. No Hollywood glamor or glitter. It wasn't overly long and it keep my attention. I think it would be a great baby shower gift for a new mother. Would I buy the DVD for $16.00 plus $4.00 shipping. No, I think there are better products on the market for $20.00. Would I buy it for less, possibly, and I'm not talking about $19.99.
For ethnic mothers or mothers to be, there are no mothers or babies of color featured in the DVD. There is an African American father at the newborn stage with his baby. It seems than an entire segment of consumers were missed when this video was made and marketed. If you have no issue with this fact, I recommend that you check it out. If you don't believe that you can relate to the DVD, I recommend that you check out Aimee's Babies site. They have other DVDs, an adorable onesie and other products that may be of interest.
Note: This review is my opinion and my opinion only. I received a copy of the DVD for review; however, no additional compensation was received.