Caroline In The City: Braincandy DVDs offer same old snack

When it comes to entertaining and educational DVDs for your kids there are thousands of choices. Braincandy, pardon the pun, is the brainchild of two Seattle parents. They’ve created a series of five DVDs that help your child explore their senses. With the help of “Bruce the Brain” your child gets to hear, smell, see, taste, and touch their world.

The brightly colored (and eco-friendly) packages had my kids attention from the minute they landed on the kitchen table. My two year old was hopping up and down saying “Movie!, Movie!” I swear she doesn’t see as much TV as her reaction may imply.

The DVDs are broken down into chapters and are each about 40 minutes in length. In “See My World” the chapters include: Eyes, Colors, Close Up, and Working Together. The DVD combines puppets with live action kids in both indoor and outdoor settings. My four year old looked bored, while my two year old was enraptured.

Between each chapter there is a one minute dance break that encourages your child to get up and bust a move. While my kids enjoyed the music, neither one of them moved from the couch for any of the breaks. The music used throughout the DVD is pretty basic. Classical pieces you and your child will recognize. It’s mostly done on a synthesizer, which I was less than thrilled with.

The children starring in the DVD come from a variety of backgrounds which is great because your child will certainly find someone to identify with. The kids are bright-eyed and very active as they explore the various aspects of their senses.

I found the puppets to be a bit creepy. “Bruce the Brain” and his friends shaped like an ear, a hand, a pair of eyes, a mouth, and a nose are pretty strange. My daughters kept asking where the rest of the puppet was.

The bottom line is these DVDs offer a good education on your child’s senses and how they work together to give us an accurate view of their world. They are well-produced, but don’t really offer anything new to the world of children’s DVDs. Although they have won numerous awards I found them to be lacking in innovation. It’s pretty much the same old snack.

Learn more at www.braincandykids.com