The first set of impressions of eebee’s adventures are in! Each of our reviewers received a different package of products with one DVD and one book. All products are targeted towards learning from everyday objects or tasks. The DVDs are titled “All in a Day’s Play,” “Figuring Things Out,” and “Exploring Real Stuff.” The books include “All About Me and You” and “Laundry Time.”
The DVDs all follow a similar format. As one reviewer explains, puppet Eebee and his caretaker Kristy “interact like a parent introducing a new game to a toddler, and then stepping back to let the child explore while providing encouragement. The scene then cuts between Eebee and real children doing the same task. There’s no dull explanation of what to do, or why the child should try this activity. Instead, this DVD works on the idea of having a child watch and then mimic the ideas.” Remarks one reviewer, “Eebee and his baby friends have a blast on the gorgeous colorful set exploring a variety of sensations. Everything looks so appealing and interesting that we wanted to join in the fun.”
Our bloggers’ children range in age. One mother of a toddler explained initial hesitation, “When I first watched the DVD, I wondered if this was advanced enough for my 18 month old. The first scenes were of Eebee - a non-verbal puppet with some interesting hair - and his real-person playmate Kristy tackling a mountain of pillows. This was something [my daughter] could already do. But soon I realized that this was only the beginning of several scenes, and that most were right at her developmental level.” On the flip-side, a younger infant’s attention wasn’t captured. Our reviewer remarked, “My 6-month-old liked the music in the video, but didn’t really watch any of it.” Her thought is that “in time, the DVD may become more interesting.” All is not lost, though, because this reviewer explains “The bath and board books were clear winners.”
“I’ve been trying to come up with something they can both watch and enjoy.” remarked one mom about her “opinionated” three-year old and his baby sister. Thankfully, the song on the DVD “is easily adaptable to accommodate any child with a two syllable name. I don’t get it entirely, but they both lose their minds when I substitute ‘Sammy’ or ‘Lucy’ for ‘eebee’ in the song.” The book ended up being a hit with her baby, but fortunately worked for the older sibling as well: “Being almost three, [my son] was a little too old for this book, but he actually had some fun showing [my daughter] all of the ways to play with it.”
One reviewer explained that typically she has to sit through baby videos that she dislikes because her daughter loves them. A twist on the usual, she explains, “THIS time we watched a DVD that was entertaining but not a dumbed down “baby” DVD. The colors were bright and the puppet was cute. The little kids who were in the DVD were just playing so you didn’t run into the horrible child acting that is so common in these things. Alas, [my daughter] wasn’t too thrilled by the whole deal.” Fortunately, like the other baby who wasn’t captured by the video, she adores the cloth book: “[She] LOVES this book. She carries it around and loves on it. She covers up the baby in the book and brings it bottles and cookies. Basically the book hasn’t left her grubby little hands since I got the thing.”
The DVDs and books starring Eebee ultimately feature the children reading and watching. They aren’t passive observers. One mom explained, “After viewing [the DVD] a couple of times, I noticed she was now trying some of the activities they did. She is more interested in blocks now, and she has taken an interest in the stacking cups that she previously ignored.” As another described, All About Me and You “has a fold-out mirror and text that encourages learning about baby’s eyes, nose, mouth, etc. by looking in the mirror and reading the words that name each part.” This reviewer’s baby was engrossed in looking at the book: “We laid on the floor and I read the book to her. We looked in the little mirror together and I could see that D was smiling at herself, and at me.”
Several of the reviewers appreciated that the DVDs sparked their own imaginations in addition to entertaining and stimulating their children: “Watching Eebee and Kristy interact is practically a script for parents to follow in interacting with their own children. I was impressed at how Kristy encouraged Eebee without doing too much for him. It reminded me to pull back a little and let [my daughter] explore in her own way more. Extras on the DVD include interviews with the experts who put this DVD together, explaining the developmental principles behind the action.”
One reviewer remarked, “Its simple approach to learning and exploring with everyday objects has made me more creative with my own everyday objects.” And another admitted, “It gave me ideas of things to do with the kids and I really appreciate that since there’s only so many times I can handle drawing a kitty over and over and over…”
Their enthusiasm wasn’t shared by a veteran mom, though: “I thought this DVD might be helpful for a first-time parent, or parents who find it difficult to find ways to play with their babies. All the suggestions seemed obvious to me, but I have 3 children.”
As a final thought, one blogger was pleased that the eebee’s adventures products appear to be education for education-sake, not for massive global marketing: “As a bonus, it doesn’t feel like they are trying to sell my kids something every other minute… Yes, they have toys and other merchandise, but they don’t beat you about the head with it.”
Read on to discover what our second set of bloggers has to say:
Today - Motherhood Uncensored
Fri 12/5 - Ovolina
Mon 12/8 - Esmon, Halloween Lover
Tues 12/9 - Cootie Chronicles
Wed 12/10 - Round-Up Review here at PBN
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Tags: baby DVD, blogger reviews, Books, dvd, interactive, puppet, soft books, toddler DVD
[...] like our first set of bloggers, our second set has plenty to say about the puppet baby Eebee and his interactive books, DVDs, and [...]