Answers to questions parents ask most:

About Children and television

• Why are Personalized Educational Videos better?
• What are the benefits of watching Tot By Me videos and other educational programs?
• How much television should my kids watch?

  As with all good things, it is possible to overindulge. There is evidence that the quality of what your children watch is more important than how much they watch. Co-viewing with your children and talking about the content at least part of the time will help them get the most out of age appropriate programs. Make sure your children have plenty of opportunities to interact with you and other kids, besides watching television. Use your good judgement about when your kids have had enough, turn off the TV, and guide them to another activity.

• What programs are good for my children to watch?

  Research shows that programs well designed to be educational for a specific age group can be very beneficial. Pay attention to age recommendations, for example Sesame St is made for 3-5 year olds and Tot By Me is for up to age 4. There is little or no educational benefit to watching cartoons designed only as entertainment, nor in watching programs aimed at a significantly older or younger audience. If your preschoolers are consistently viewing cartoons intended for older kids, which are common on TV, then get some high quality videos to watch.

• What should I look for in a high quality educational video?

  Different age children have different needs. Tot By Me and other high quality educational programs have many of the features below.

  Newborns and infants (0 to 12 mo) benefit from seeing the faces of their caregivers. They have a preference for high contrast, dynamic but slow moving visuals. Repetition helps reinforce new concepts.

  Toddlers (12 to 24 mo) need lots of exposure to new and familiar words. Adult speakers using simple language aid toddler comprehension of new words. Verbal emphasis on words and repetition helps build early vocabulary, especially for objects and concepts presented in the here and now, like nouns and verbs. Letter and number recognition, as well as basic counting begin at this age. Rhythmic music and simple songs, like Head Shoulders Knees and Toes, encourage dancing and physical participation in viewed content.

  Preschoolers (2 to 4 yrs) benefit from seeing letters and words presented with a visual representation of their meaning. Gradually more complex interconnected story lines help build understanding of event sequencing and knowledge of narratives. Counting to 20, colors and color concepts, increasingly complicated shapes, and singing along are all introduced.

About Tot By Me

• How do I get the best looking characters?

  The photo you choose is very important.

  People often upload photos that are too dark. If you view the whole photo, the face may look fine. However when we color match the character's skin tone to the photo, the result is muddy next to the bright colors in the cartoon. The face in your photo should have bright and even lighting.

  The person in the photo should be looking straight at the camera. A little head turn is okay but too much leads to problems.

  1. There is not enough room beside the eyes to get a good fit. When you are fine tuning the fit of the face you'll discover that you must move the face far to one side so the background of the photo does not show and your character won't look as good.

  2. The character's nose will look too big or the character won't look like you. Generally speaking people are used to seeing themselves only from the front in a mirror. If you use a photo for your character with the head turned a lot, you won't recognize yourself as readily.

  Find a photo where your forehead is mostly showing. Hats and bangs that come close to the eye brows will often show up on the character. We are planning new characters that will make photos with hats and bangs work even better!

  Fortunately Tot By Me samples are FREE. You can upload as many photos as you want to see what works best for YOU!

  Photos that work best: Close-up of face Looking straight ahead, nose points straight at camera Soft even lighting, no shadows on face 300kb-3mb sized file Glasses, beards, multiple people, all okay!

• How long does it take to personalize my video?

  Just 5 minutes! Once you upload your photo, personalizing your video is fast and easy. Then we create your FREE sample and it's ready to watch within minutes!

• What do I get?

  The FREE sample is a personalized educational cartoon that you watch on your computer. The cartoon features a fully animated character based on a member of your family created from a photo you upload. After you create a free sample, you can order a full length educational DVD starring the same character. Your DVD also comes with a full color glossy picture of your character on both case and the disc itself! Show me more

• How do I give Tot By Me videos as a gift?

  We offer gift cards by email or plastic gift cards we send by regular mail.

• What happened to Cuvid and Peek-a-Parent?

  We've changed our name, and we're adding a bunch of new features, so check them out!

• How do I tell someone about TotByMe.com?

  Make sure to check out our share feature on your My Home page. We also have a referral progam where you and those people that your refer both earn discounts on Tot By Me products.

• Will other videos be available?

  Definitely! Other fun-filled and educational personalized adventures will be released shortly.

• Are the shorts as individual downloadable content?

  We may test having all videos available for download if there is enough demand. Right now we are only offering the content together as a DVD collection.

• How do I ask a question?

  Email us at: CS@TotByMe.com or use the Live Help button at the top of the page.