January 28, 2014
Q: I have a 2½ year old, and so far, per the advice of our pediatrician, she has had no screen time. However, I have heard that educational television, such as Sesame Street, can be useful to offer in small doses after the age of two. My inclination is to continue not to offer her screen […]
January 17, 2014
Q: Should I read my 14 year old daughter’s text messages? I want to make sure she is safe and that she isn’t using her phone late at night. She feels that I check her texts because I don’t trust her, but I feel that as a parent (who also pays for the phone), it […]
January 3, 2014
Q: We like to stream music from Pandora for my kids, who are in first and second grade. Pop dance music is fun and upbeat, and my children love it. But there is a big jump in maturity from Laurie Berkner and Kids Bop to Today’s Top Hits. And though there are lots of controls […]
December 31, 2013
Dear Reader, Each week this year, you asked your most pressing questions about the effects of media on kids, and we answered. Here are the top 10 most-viewed Ask the Mediatrician answers from 2013: 1. How can I monitor my 12-year-old daughter’s use of Instagram? >Read 2. Is it ok to let my kids play with the iPad when I […]
December 23, 2013
Q: A very good English teacher at my children’s high school is having her 10th grade students read a book that’s causing quite a stir: “The House of the Spirits,” by Isabel Allende. The book contains some very graphic descriptions of violence, sex, and sexual abuse. The teacher is using the book as a way […]
December 16, 2013
The holidays can be a great time for families and friends to come together and watch a new or classic movie. This year, theaters are offering movie versions of popular children’s and young adult stories such as Frozen, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and The Hobbit:The Desolation of Smaug, while many TV stations and streaming […]
December 12, 2013
Q: I’ve been hearing a lot about a new bouncy seat that includes a place where parents can put an iPad to occupy their baby. Is it really that different than watching TV, other than giving parents more control over content? –iPuzzled in Watertown, NY A: Dear iPuzzled, The recent attention on this toy is […]
November 27, 2013
Last Thanksgiving, we posted this piece about relfection and taking time to be together. We are reposting it in honor of this Thanksgiving. Enjoy! Thanksgiving is considered a time of reflection, giving thanks, family togetherness, and, of course, delicious food. But when all the toasts have been made, the plates cleared, and the leftovers tucked […]
November 21, 2013
Dear Readers, Last week, the New York Times featured an article entitled “Unlearning Gun Violence”, which discussed the work of an epidemiologist who, after a decade of fighting TB, HIV, and cholera in Africa, returned to a life-threatening epidemic in his hometown of Chicago—violence. He uses the same techniques that worked in Africa, teaching perpetrators and […]
November 11, 2013
Q: We recently bought eReaders for our sons, ages 5 and 7. I am wondering if we should treat the time they spend reading on these devices the same as the time they spend reading library books or books from their own bookshelf? Also, I know that generally the concern around screen time is with […]
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