Disney is issuing refunds to anyone who purchased Baby Einstein material between June 2004 and September 2009. Apparently, Disney is trying to ward off a class action suit from parents who are complaining that their children weren’t transformed into geniuses when they watched the Baby Einstein videos.

Baby Einstein may not have turned children into geniuses, but Disney executives are brilliant. Analysts say that Disney is making a very smart financial move by asking consumers to return their products for a refund. With the threat of a class action suit looming, Disney will end up paying a fraction to those who take the time and effort to ask for a refund. Making it available to everyone doesn’t mean that everyone will take Disney up on the offer. It’s much easier to add your name to a list of plaintiffs than it is to find that old DVD, find the nearest Disney store, pack the kids in the car to get a refund that may not seem worth it for all the trouble required. Some say that another hindrance to returning the videos is the apparent admission that their children are not very smart. If you’re returning the videos, you’re essentially saying that the videos failed to make my child smart. That is, my child is not smart. Oh, the pressure on parents!

What I find even more interesting in all this is the expectation that a video of any kind would make a child smart. I’m only a brand new parent, so I realize that I have a lot to learn in this area. But in this day and age, doesn’t everyone read a book or two (or on the Internet) about all the different ways to stimulate your child’s development? At this p0int, don’t most parents know that children in front of a television — regardless of what is on that television — will not get any smarter without actual interaction with people?

We see reports all the time about limiting television for children, especially very young children. Now some pediatricians are suggesting that children under the age of two should not watch television. Some say they will learn to become more sedentary rather than physically active. Others argue that children are more likely to become violent because of the violence on television. Still others say that children under the age of four will have their language development delayed if they spend too much time in front of the television. Is it the television, or the Baby Einstein videos, that are inherently detrimental? Not quite. It turns out that mom and dad are not engaging the child in much conversation when that television is on. And that is the actual reason for the delay in language development.

While it’s good for Disney to own up to their claims of the Baby Einstein products being educational, it couldn’t hurt for parents to take ownership of their children’s development and limit the use of that television. After all, Disney is not the one responsible for our children’s education; we are.