The advertisements are irresistible. Toys, games and videos, marketed with the promise that they will help young children develop better brains and learn earlier. Parents, concerned with their children's developing minds, find the promises too enticing to resist.

Do these educational toys accomplish what they claim? The National Research Council and Institute of Medicine panel reviewed the science on early childhood development. No special products or programs were found to accelerate school readiness. The assertions that toys and technologies can raise babies' IQs are, quite frankly, not based on any hard scientific evidence that shows how these enrichment activities affect early brain development.

The science is clear about one thing: Young children benefit -- intellectually, socially and emotionally -- from the time they share with their parents playing, talking, reading and doing things together. By far the best gift parents and caring adults can give young children is time spent together.

Parents who want to help the minds and spirits of their children grow should not worry about buying the right CDs, computer programs or educational videos. Instead, they should spend lots of time with their children, giving them the undistracted attention and sensitive care that helps them thrive.