No Mesmerized Einsteins

TV won’t make Baby smarter.

Baby won’t get any smarter watching television — even when plunked in front of a baby-educational video. Researchers from Children’s Hospital in Boston and Harvard Medical School reached this conclusion after monitoring more than 800 tikes from birth to 3 years old. Commenting on the findings, Dr. Michael Rich, a co-author of the study, didn’t mince words. He called baby-educational videos “just wasted time.” Even at their very best, he added, “they steal time from much more productive cognitive developmental activities. Ultimately, what it’s about is to make parents not feel guilty about an electronic babysitter.”

Palestinian Christians celebrate Easter Sunday Mass at Holy Family Church in Gaza City on March 31, amid the ongoing battles Israel and the Hamas militant group.

People Explain ‘Why I Go to Mass’

‘Why go to Mass on Sundays? It is not enough to answer that it is a precept of the Church. … We Christians need to participate in Sunday Mass because only with the grace of Jesus, with his living presence in us and among us, can we put into practice his commandment, and thus be his credible witnesses.’ —Pope Francis

Palestinian Christians celebrate Easter Sunday Mass at Holy Family Church in Gaza City on March 31, amid the ongoing battles Israel and the Hamas militant group.

People Explain ‘Why I Go to Mass’

‘Why go to Mass on Sundays? It is not enough to answer that it is a precept of the Church. … We Christians need to participate in Sunday Mass because only with the grace of Jesus, with his living presence in us and among us, can we put into practice his commandment, and thus be his credible witnesses.’ —Pope Francis