August 3, 2012
Q: I have a 5 and 10 year old and am wondering how I can monitor their internet use. We have a wireless Lynksys system, a Macbook, Wii, Xbox, and a Windows computer. Any thoughts?–Surfing, in South Jersey A: Dear Surfing, There are a number of software and firmware products that claim to monitor and/or […]
July 27, 2012
Q: Each morning while I shower and get dressed, I let my two-year-old son watch 10-15 minutes of an innocuous video. This has worked well to keep him safe and still while I shower, but he pitches a fit every time I turn the movie off, despite the fact that we do this same routine every day and […]
July 20, 2012
Q: My 5-year-old son’s summer camp is studying the Olympics, a topic he is very interested in. We’ve been seeing many billboards and TV commercials with athletes promoting Coca Cola. The first time he saw one, he literally said, “Oh, if I drink Coca Cola, then I can be a great boxer too.” Of course […]
July 5, 2012
Q: I have a 6-year-old son, and he is very fearful of children’s television. For instance, when his younger sisters watch Winnie The Pooh and the bees start chasing Pooh Bear, my son screams in terror and runs out of the room. This does not scare his two younger sisters at all. Do you have […]
June 29, 2012
Q: With kids of all ages using the internet for everything from socializing to finding information to playing games, how can we keep them as safe as they can be in that world? -Net Nervous A: Dear Net Nervous, You’re right–just like the school playground, the internet is a place where children play, learn, and […]
June 14, 2012
Q: I live in a big city with my 3 year old son and 1 year old daughter, and I’ve noticed that children who live in such cities spend a lot of time playing on cement playgrounds and on the Web. I know that spending time in nature is good for children’s development, but how […]
June 1, 2012
Q: My 8-year-old son is a precocious reader, and I am having a hard time finding books that are both age-appropriate and challenging enough to keep him engaged. I worry that the books at his reading level are too violent or contain other content that he’s not ready for. Where can I find books (lots […]
May 22, 2012
Q: With the purchase of a couple of e-book tablets for our home, how can we know if the books our 10-year-old triplets will be reading on them are age appropriate? My daughter read a book she heard about in her 4th grade class during a book report, and it ended up having significant sexual […]
March 29, 2012
Q: My husband plays X-box games rated for those over 16 or over 18, like Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto, and Modern Warfare. He allows our 5-year-old son to play these games with him. I do not know anything about X-box, but I feel they are not suitable for a child that is so young. […]
March 20, 2012
Q: Sometimes, we watch TV while our 7 week old is in the room. She’ll typically be in our arms or sleeping in her swing at the time. She never sees the images on TV. The shows we watch tend to be PBS shows, cooking shows, and other non-violent, non-suspenseful things. I wonder if hearing the […]
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