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Identity Development

My 15-year-old opened secret social networking accounts, what should I do?
 My 15-year-old opened secret social networking accounts, what should I do? 150 150 Mediatrics

Q: My 15-year-old son has taken it upon himself to secretly open up social media accounts, one of which is Snapchat. We found out about these sites because we do go through his ipod and computer from time to time. He knows that we have the passwords to all his online accounts for which we have…

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My daughter is upset by Justin Bieber’s behavior, how can I help her cope?
 My daughter is upset by Justin Bieber’s behavior, how can I help her cope? 150 150 Mediatrics

Q: My 12-year-old daughter is devastated by what has been happening with Justin Bieber. She has been a fan of the pop star “forever” and she and her friends fervently follow his career and personal life. I originally supported my daughter’s obsession (allowing her to buy his music, hang posters in her bedroom, attend a…

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How can I ensure social media safety for students with special needs?
 How can I ensure social media safety for students with special needs? 150 150 Mediatrics

Q: At the therapeutic day school where I work, we’ve been encountering a number of internet and social media issues with our students (all kids with emotional/behavioral special needs). I would love to get your thoughts and ideas on how to best educate our kids and their parents on how to understand and appropriately use…

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Should I let my 14-year-old use the ‘Snapchat’ application?
 Should I let my 14-year-old use the ‘Snapchat’ application? 150 150 Mediatrics

Q: My 14-year-old daughter has been begging to get ‘Snapchat’ on her iPod Touch. I searched for information and I wasn’t initially impressed.  I am tech savvy and know screen shots can easily be saved, but also, if she loses her device and someone else sends something, she could be held responsible. I don’t like…

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My teen loves a role-playing game involving torture, what should I do?
 My teen loves a role-playing game involving torture, what should I do? 150 150 Mediatrics

Q: My 16-year-old son loves playing role-play games on the Internet. We recently became concerned, though, when we found out that the plots often involve torture. We are wondering why he is attracted to this kind of play and if there are any long or short term risks we should know about. We wonder if…

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How can parents make the internet a safe place to play?
 How can parents make the internet a safe place to play? 150 150 Mediatrics

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…

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How can I encourage parents to be involved in their kids’ online lives?
 How can I encourage parents to be involved in their kids’ online lives? 150 150 Mediatrics

Q: My 16-year-old goddaughter’s parents are not Facebook friends with her, so when someone stole her phone and posted some degrading things to her account, they didn’t know until I told them. Another friend asked me to look at all her 19-year-old daughter’s pictures and let her know if I saw anything inappropriate. How can…

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When is it time for my daughter to get an email account?
 When is it time for my daughter to get an email account? 150 150 Mediatrics

Q: At what age do you think it is appropriate for a child to have a personal e-mail address? I have a 10 year old who wants one, but I don’t feel she is old enough. I think she can be trusted and has proved to be responsible, but it’s the world out there I…

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My teens want to start a blog together–what are the pros and cons?
 My teens want to start a blog together–what are the pros and cons? 150 150 Mediatrics

Q: We have a 16-year-old daughter and a 14-year-old son who are at the same school. They have voluntarily given up Facebook because of the time drain it can be, and both have fairly heavy academic loads. They are interested in starting a blog together. What are the pros and cons? –Benefits of Blogging in…

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Is it OK to watch the “It Gets Better” videos with kids?
 Is it OK to watch the “It Gets Better” videos with kids? 150 150 Mediatrics

Q: The It Gets Better videos are so powerful, but would my child be too young to understand them and just get upset?
A: The It Gets Better series is very good and should be commended for what it is: A well-intentioned initiative by adults about an important matter that needs to be addressed in a very public forum. The issue here, though, is that the brain development of child viewers is not yet as complete as that of the grown-ups producing these videos.
Answered by Dr. Michael Rich, The Mediatrician

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