The sales explosion was likely touched off in 1998 by Jumpstart Baby, regarded as the first consumer title aimed at infants. It's a fact that children are going to be growing up with computers. Already bullish on books and classical music, Philip and Gigi Metzger of Orlando, Fla., reckoned Jumpstart Toddler was a great way not only to acquaint Jessica, now 2, with computers, but also to introduce concepts such as counting and colors. When we were growing up, we had Encyclopedia Brittannica. To have the skills this young, I don't think it can hurt.
Some experts disagree.
Pediatrician T. Berry Brazelton, for one, considers lapware an assault on a young child's developing mind. Brain research in the mid-1990s revealed that during the child's first two years, the number of pathways, or synapses, stitching these brain cells grows exponentially. Developing brains need time to decipher the world around them, Healy warns. Healy's argument is provocative, but advocates put on as convincing a defense. Shows like Sesame Street put such concerns to bed, demonstrating how to masterfully blend education with the new medium.