March 23, 2017
Q: My 8-year-old son has ADHD and is on medication for it. He wants to play the video game, Minecraft, but I’m not sure if he should. Do you think it is ok for him to play, and if so, for how long? ~ Muddled about Minecraft, The Overworld, Earth A: Dear Muddled, Yes, your son […]
March 1, 2017
Q: About 9 months ago, I came into my 12-year-old son’s room and found him acting odd, as though he was hiding something. So I checked under the cover of his bed where he was sitting, and found his younger sister’s Tinker Bell plushy. He had tied the doll’s arms and legs together and put […]
February 23, 2017
Q: I was able to attend a community presentation you gave about children and screen time. During your talk, you discouraged parents from setting screen time limits because doing so makes media into “forbidden fruit”, or increasingly tempting for kids. In my house, we often take away TV or iPad time from our kids (ages […]
February 22, 2017
Q: I’d like my parents to be able to see and start talking to my three-month-old son via Skype on my smartphone. I’m concerned about how the video emitted from the screen will affect his brain development and his eyes. Any advice will be helpful! ~ Nana Skype, New York, NY A: Dear Nana, This […]
January 27, 2017
Q: I love listening to classical music and believe that it helps me quiet my thinking and focus. I often have it on, even while my 8 and 7-year-olds are doing their homework. My question is, does classical music distract from their learning? ~ Baffled about Bach, Fort McMurray, Alberta Canada A: This is a […]
December 31, 2016
Q: My 12-year old son is insecure due to the fighting in our country, Syria. We’ve had to move several times and my son expresses concern over losing me or his father, but mostly me. If I am in another room for a while, he will call from his own room, just to hear my […]
December 13, 2016
Q: My 6-year-old-son loves to watch shows for younger kids, his favorite show is Paw Patrol which he will watch repeatedly. He has Global Development Delay, and may also have ADHD. I’ve spoken with his pediatrician about the shows he watches and she said that if he likes shows and toys geared towards younger children […]
October 12, 2016
Q: Would you allow an 11-year-old child to use the Kik app? I say “no”, but would like to know your thoughts – thanks! ~ Kik Me, Annapolis, MD A: Dear KM, Parenting in the 21st Century includes deciding how to manage children’s screen media use, which means many different decisions about issues from television […]
September 19, 2016
Q: I’m a 20 year old male struggling with internet addiction. It has been ruining my life socially, academically, and personally. I want to break this addiction but I don’t know how. I’ve turned towards using programs to block websites and use complicated passwords to lock myself out of disabling the program but I always find a way […]
August 19, 2016
Q: How do you deal with racism, vulgarity, and hatred found in comment sections, even on websites hosting material that is appropriate for my child like YouTube or educational coding websites? ~Troll Fighter, Grand Rapids, MI A: Dear TF, This is a great question, and one I’m sure anyone who has ever scrolled through an online […]
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