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TV Babysitters? The New Bright Idea from the House Republican Conference
Posted on 30. Jun, 2009 by Andrew in Blog
The House Republican Conference response to the Early Support for Families Act isn’t what you might expect. The bill, which is meant to help prevent child abuse and create early learning opportunities in at-risk communities, was countered by the House Rs who proposed free DVDs. The DVDs they mentioned is Baby Einstein; a program that recent research warns against using because it harms child brain development (see Time article below). The way in which some members of the House Rs want to cut spending is by turning babies into couch potatoes instead of encouraging the physical interaction they need most.
Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA) proposed legislation earlier this month to make home visitation available to high-needs communities. Drawing bipartisan support, H.R. 2667 (Early Support for Families Act) would help states finance Nurse-Family Partnerships programs (or NFP). These programs bring nurses to at-risk mothers before they give birth and regularly visit until the child becomes two. Research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association supports home visitation as a means to cut abuse and neglect by 50%. Similarly, children whose mothers received NPF coaching were 60% less likely to be arrested by age 15.
The proposed $2 billion over the next 5 years would also include funds for Title I Early Childhood Grants, Early Learning Challenge Fund, and Promise Neighborhoods, all of which help support children in poverty-stricken areas. While Title I Grants and Early Learning Funds are intended to raise the quality of early learning programs, Promise Neighborhoods are community organizations that develop and implement youth programs for children from birth through college. Congressman Platts (R-PA), a co-sponsor of H.R. 2667 commented on the bill, stating that home visitation coupled with early learning programs , commented on the bill, stating that home visitation and early learning help break the cycle of poverty and abuse.
For those readers who might be concerned with this price tag, studies have found that these types of programs actually end up saving taxpayer money. For instance, Steve Aos of the Washington State Institute for Public Policy found that similar programs ended up saving the community $3 for every $1 spent on NPF funding. Yet, the House Republican Conference has called the bill federal funding for babysitters. These members, instead, point to some cost-cutting methods that could also have a positive effect on America’s children. One measure, in particular, would substitute home visitation nurses with Baby Einsteins multi-pack DVD sets. Although this program would on paper save the government a billion dollars, these parents would not receive the training they need to properly care for their children, therefore doing nothing for neglect and abuse rates, as well as doing nothing to promote family values. There’s another BIG problem with this cheap fix. While scientists now know physical interactions between parents and nurses positively affect a child’s outcome, Baby Einsteins videos have a strong detrimental affect on brain development, particularly language acquisition.
All in all, members from a broad spectrum of the community agree that the provisions under the Early Support for Families Act will benefit children and parents in high-risk communities while actually easing the burden on the national deficit. Those that claim this legislation will lead the country on a path to becoming a “Nanny State” fail to see the benefits that will come to some of the poorest families. Congressman Davis (D-IL), another co-sponsor of the Early Support for Families Act, commented on the legislation, stating that promoting healthy families is a goal we can all embrace. I, too, think that this is a widely shared goal… as long as Mike Pence, Chairman of the RHC is the one who ends up watching Baby Einsteins. If their claims of the show’s benefits are true, one can only imagine the brilliant ideas from the House Republican Conference in the future.
Baby Einsteins: Not So Smart After All – Time Magazine
Trillions in Spending, Billions for Babysitters- House Republican Conference
