April 3, 2013
Q: My 11-year-old son spends every free minute in front of his computer—doing homework (he really does, thank goodness), social networking, playing games, and now creating his own games. Concerned that, one by one, he has dropped sports, playing with friends, getting outdoors, and, frankly, spending time with the family, I have struggled (and been […]
March 21, 2013
Q: I am trying to monitor my 12-year-old daughter’s use of Instagram and am wondering if there is a way to find any ‘secret storage’ spaces on her smartphone. I am not too concerned right now, but in the future I would like to know how to access it. Instagram is the only social media platform […]
February 27, 2013
I have two kids, ages 7 and 2. My eldest is given access to the iPad on car trips and once in a while at home. My younger son likes to sit by his brother while he plays and of late, has been pointing to it and asking for it. There are some days when […]
February 6, 2013
Q: Hi, I am a parent of a first grader who attends public elementary school. Her school offers the option of having an outdoor recess period after lunch or an indoor free-time in the school’s media center (essentially an extension of the library, featuring several computers, tablets, and eReaders). When I first heard about this […]
January 10, 2013
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 […]
November 15, 2012
Q: Our 18-year-old son started playing video games at age 9 and became addicted gradually. We struggled with him over the years to limit the time he was online. It became the center of his world, especially when he hit puberty and was dealing with insecurity, anxiety, and depression. The games became more and more […]
October 30, 2012
Q: I am mom to a 3-year-old and a newborn. I’m careful about the amount and content of my kids’ screen time. I occasionally try to find simple computer games for my toddler to develop keyboard and mouse skills, but I wonder if these skills will be relevant for her in the future. I’m starting […]
September 28, 2012
The Mediatrician® contributed to the following post on A Platform for Good, the Family Online Safety Institute's resource page and blog. Last winter, a father read an angry letter his 15-year-old daughter had posted on Facebook. In response, he put nine bullets into her laptop and posted the video online. Within weeks, it had garnered millions […]
September 27, 2012
Q: My 8-year-old son sees a lot of kids around him with iPods, iPads, video games, and phones, and keeps asking us for them. Even though we have explained that he doesn’t need all of these electronics and expose him to lots of other activities, the peer pressure is getting to him. What can I […]
September 21, 2012
Q: I have 4 boys (ages 11, 9, 9, and 7), and I am rather strict about limiting their screen time: We don’t allow any during the school week, and on the weekend, we allow the boys 1 hour per day. I have also told my oldest son that when he is at someone else’s house, […]
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