April 27, 2020
Q: I live in a high-rise apartment and am the father of two girls, ages 4 and 7. Before living in lockdown due to COVID-19, the girls and I would play outside nearly every day at a local park, and often go on nature adventures on weekends. The lockdown was recently extended and I worry that […]
April 20, 2020
Q: My partner and I are parenting three children (ages 3.5, 6 and 10) while staying with my sister and her family, which includes a 19-year-old college student. We’re all in lockdown as my sister is high-risk for coronavirus. The adults are working from home, and some of the kids are remote learning. There are […]
May 22, 2018
Q: Can you please offer guidance on Fortnite? It seems to be all that kids 11-14 are doing these days. I do not allow my children to play, but saw my godson play and was horrified – the guns all look real, but the deaths show no blood. As a person who grew up in […]
December 8, 2017
Q: I recently read about Facebook’s new messenger app for kids. My kids, who are 6 and 9, have their own smartphones and currently use them for calling/texting only (I think). We’ve avoided using social media apps, as I worry about the content and protecting their privacy. Is Facebook’s new app a good “gateway” app […]
May 22, 2017
Q: I have been reading the Harry Potter series to my children ages 10 and 7. We’ve read the first and second book and watched the corresponding movies. Both my kids love the series and want to continue reading and watching. I’ve read a lot of varying opinions about the age-appropriateness of both the books […]
April 4, 2017
Es En Espanol Q: I’m a Social Worker who works with children ages 7-18 on the autism spectrum. Many of the kids that I work with interpret what they see in TV and movies as representative of real life situations and how people behave – unfortunately, this kind of rigid, literal thinking often leads to problems […]
March 23, 2017
Q: My 8-year-old son has ADHD and is on medication for it. He wants to play the video game, Minecraft, but I’m not sure if he should. Do you think it is ok for him to play, and if so, for how long? ~ Muddled about Minecraft, The Overworld, Earth A: Dear Muddled, Yes, your son […]
February 23, 2017
Q: I was able to attend a community presentation you gave about children and screen time. During your talk, you discouraged parents from setting screen time limits because doing so makes media into “forbidden fruit”, or increasingly tempting for kids. In my house, we often take away TV or iPad time from our kids (ages […]
January 27, 2017
Q: I love listening to classical music and believe that it helps me quiet my thinking and focus. I often have it on, even while my 8 and 7-year-olds are doing their homework. My question is, does classical music distract from their learning? ~ Baffled about Bach, Fort McMurray, Alberta Canada A: This is a […]
December 13, 2016
Q: My 6-year-old-son loves to watch shows for younger kids, his favorite show is Paw Patrol which he will watch repeatedly. He has Global Development Delay, and may also have ADHD. I’ve spoken with his pediatrician about the shows he watches and she said that if he likes shows and toys geared towards younger children […]
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