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Internet & Computers

My 15-year-old daughter is having pornographic conversations online–what do I do?
 My 15-year-old daughter is having pornographic conversations online–what do I do? 150 150 Mediatrics

Q: I found out that my 15-year-old daughter has a profile on a social network site where she has pornographic conversations with boys. Is this normal teenage behavior? How can I get through to her without driving her further into secrecy?

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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 do I limit my child’s media time if he’s physically fit and gets good grades?
 How do I limit my child’s media time if he’s physically fit and gets good grades? 150 150 Mediatrics

Q: My child is in third grade, and he’s already diagnosed with ADHD. He has a high IQ, is in honors classes, and is physically active—he’s a Gold-medal wrestler. He still uses media for too many hours each day, though. Given that he’s in good shape and gets good grades, how can I tell him…

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With all the gadgets we have at home, how can I monitor my kids’ internet use?
 With all the gadgets we have at home, how can I monitor my kids’ internet use? 150 150 Mediatrics

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…

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How do I stop my teen from sharing inappropriate Facebook posts?
 How do I stop my teen from sharing inappropriate Facebook posts? 150 150 Mediatrics

Q: We have stopped our 17-year-old daughter from using Facebook a number of times due to angry and inappropriate postings. We put unrecognizable passwords in, but she keeps creating or restarting Facebook pages. I believe she has one now, and I can’t find it. She has probably blocked me. Is there any way of totally…

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How can I help my son limit computer time when he says he can’t resist?
 How can I help my son limit computer time when he says he can’t resist? 150 150 Mediatrics

Q: My 10-year-old son plays mostly role-playing games, and has a 90-minute screen time limit per day. Overall he’s a great kid—does well in school, is active in sports, has plenty of friends—but we have limited his screen time as a consequence for poor behavior, which is mostly related to abusing screen time limits. He…

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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 my kids experience nature when we live in a media-saturated city?
 How can my kids experience nature when we live in a media-saturated city? 150 150 Mediatrics

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…

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How can I tell if an e-book is appropriate for my 10-year-old?
 How can I tell if an e-book is appropriate for my 10-year-old? 150 150 Mediatrics

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…

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What can I do for my 15-year-old son, who has Asperger’s and ADHD and seems addicted to video games?
 What can I do for my 15-year-old son, who has Asperger’s and ADHD and seems addicted to video games? 150 150 Mediatrics

Q: My son is 15 and displays symptoms of video game addiction, including lying and sneaking to try to gain access. He has Asperger’s and ADHD, and regardless of what medication regimen we try, the gaming obsession remains. I recently asked the psychiatrist to hospitalize him and treat him as they would other addicts, but…

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