Jaden loves to watch tv, especially movies that are geared toward his age; but as a parent, I don’t want to let him sit in front of the tv all day, and if he is watching, I’d rather that he watch something he can learn from.  Of course, he watches all kinds of cartoons, but recently, we’ve come upon BabyFirstTV.

BabyFirstTV is geared toward infants and toddlers from 6 months up to 3 years old.  You can get this channel as a subscription through most cable/satellite networks, including Dish Network or DirecTV.  We received several DVDs from BabyFirstTV, seven to be exact.  BabyFirstTV’s mission is to provide your child with educational content that he/she can learn from, whether it be through educational games, puzzles, learning colors and shapes, learning how to sign, etc.  The programs are made to be interactive between parent and child, as well, which is one thing that I love about them.  They provide subtitles for parents to have as a sort of “cheat sheet” as to what to say to help your baby learn, as the program goes along.  With music and colorful characters, these DVDs really appealed to Jaden, and he’d sit there watching for quite a long while. Most of the DVDs flow in a chronological progression, so your baby can learn step by step.  However, I may not review them quite in order….but you can check them out for yourself on the BabyFirstTV website.  Created by childhood education experts, there are seven different content categories in BabyFirstTV:

1. Thinking Journey
2. Numbers Parade
3. Language Parade
4. Sensory Wonderland
5. Imagination Lane
6. Rainbow Dreams
7. Feelings Garden

Jaden’s favorite video, by far, was Harry the Bunny, which is part of the Language Playground category.  He would come asking me if he could watch, “My Bunny.”  It really was a cute little movie, and is about 50 minutes in length.  In this DVD, children will get to know Harry the Bunny, and they’ll explore right along with him.  From daily routines to games, as well as two Harry the Bunny music videos, this definitely was Jaden’s absolute favorite.  This DVD comes with a free 2-month subscription to the BabyFirstTV Channel. You can purchase the DVD for $14.95.

Cognitive Beginnings is a video from the Thinking Journey category.   This video basically helps babies to start to develop cognitive or thinking skills through the ability to recognize different objects, memory exercises, puzzles, and even solving problems.  This DVD also comes with a free 2-month subscription to the BabyFirstTV channel. You can purchase the DVD for $14.95.

Shushybye Baby was a DVD geared toward bedtime and is part of the Imagination Lane category.  This DVD was the first one that Jaden watched, and he sat through only part of it.  To me, as an adult, it was possibly a little corny….but Jaden liked it, which was what really mattered.  It did have the tendency to make me sleepy, which is what it’s meant to do.:)  It contains bedtime songs and stories with puppets and real characters/singers.  It actually has seven different episodes; that way, you can watch a different one each day.  It too includes the free 2-month subscription.

My Gym at Home was the next DVD, and this is part of the Sensory Wonderland series.  This video features Eric Grindler and actually has exercises that are made to help children develop “motor skills, flexibility, and social skills.”  From exercising to just playing together, from warming up to fun activities children will love, this video aims to promote fitness and a healthy development.  It also includes the 2-month free subscription.  You can purchase the DVD for $14.95.

Animal Buddies is part of the Language Playground series and focuses on animals, in order to help children learn certain concepts, such as colors, shapes, sounds, etc.  This video is a lot of fun to watch right along with your child, as are all of the DVDs, but for me this DVD is a bit easier to watch with Jaden, as he loves animals, and he doesn’t have a hard time talking about them or answering questions about them.  When it’s something that he enjoys, it’s easier to keep him interested and involved, and through conversation, he’s really picking up on words now and starting to talk a lot more, so this DVD is a lot of fun to have.  I look forward to using it this fall as a helper in our Totschool work.  This DVD comes with the 2-month free subscription, as well as a free I Can Sign booklet for you and your child.  The booklet contains full color pictures and the signs for each.  This is a lot of fun, and it kinda gives me and Jaden a taste of sign language.  It’s inspired me to look into teaching Jaden sign language a bit more this fall.  You can purchase the DVD for $14.95.

Social Explorations is a part of the Feelings Garden category.  This DVD features a lot of fun games for children, including puzzles.  It aims to help children learn more social skills, which Jaden could use more of….especially the social skill of sharing.  He’s not so good at sharing, so I have a feeling we’ll be watching this video quite often together.:)  It also aims to help children learn how to communicate with each other, which I think is a great thing.  Children have to learn to communicate instead of getting angry and throwing fits….without the proper teaching, it’s hard for them to grasp these concepts.  This DVD also comes with the 2-month free subscription.  You can purchase the DVD for $14.95.

Visual Inspirations is the last DVD we received, and it’s from the Imagination Lane series.  This DVD focuses on art to help your child develop his imagination.  The movie progresses from black and white to bright colors, so that baby can develop accordingly, depending on age and ability.  This DVD also comes with the 2-month free subscription.  You can purchase the DVD for $14.95.

BabyFirstTV is definitely an awesome resource for parents, and I highly recommend it.  If your child’s going to be watching tv, why not let him watch something that is educational and could teach him a thing or two?  These DVDs are a wonderful set of DVDs to help stimulate and grow your child’s brain and his imagination. You can follow BabyFirstTV on both Facebook and Twitter.

(Disclosure: I received 7 DVDs, free of charge, from BabyFirstTV, for the purposes of this review.)