BabyPro Sports has a great new line of DVDs to get kids interested in physical activity. Let's Play Ball!, Let's Make a Splash!, and Let's Dance & Tumble DVDs ($14.98 each) are geared for children from nine months to four years old. Each starts with young toddlers engaging in activities related to the topic, such as babies playing with balls, splashing in a small swimming pool, or doing simple gymnastics. Then the story progresses to seeing what the "big kids" can do, such as elementary school kids swimming. Finally, each video shows what the "pros" do, including some great video of young adults playing various ball games or diving, etc. The idea is to get kids interested in sports and physical activity by showing them things they can do now as well as some of the things they will be able to do later as they grow and develop. It all looks like such fun that you just want to get up and play along!

The first thing I really liked about these videos was the FBI warning statement--not something that normally catches anyone's attention! But BabyPro has little kids' voices in the background saying, "No, no, no, no!" while the FBI statement displays. Very creative! The idea for these videos is wonderful and makes sense. My kids enjoy them, and even my toddlers get up and move while watching. The kids in the videos are obviously having fun and participating in all kinds of sports activities. They are all engaging, colorful, and just plain fun! The only thing I would change is a bit more modesty in the Let's Dance & Tumble DVD--nothing terribly risque, but the costumes and dance moves could have been toned down a bit for a kid's video. That being said, the ballet portions were wonderful! One funny note is that my 7-year-old son who has Down syndrome watched the part in Let's Play Ball! where the kids were head-butting a soccer ball. He thought this looked like fun but wanted to use his siblings' heads instead of his own! They were not particularly amused to have him bouncing a ball on their heads! In other words, good supervision is always important because these great videos are showing a range of activities that may or may not be appropriate for your child's age and maturity. Whether you have couch potatoes or go-getters, the BabyPro videos will encourage them to have fun while staying active!

Product review by Dr. Anne Margaret Wright, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, November 2006