by Tripp Underwood on March 22, 2012
Scene from The Hunger Games movie
The movie The Hunger Games opens today, and record tickets sales are expected to make the grisly, post-apocalyptic, survival tale one of the spring’s biggest blockbusters. Like the Harry Potter and Twilight series before it, The Hunger Games film is based on a book written for young adults that has captured the imaginations of readers of all ages.
Considering the ultraviolent nature of The Hunger Games’ plot line—24 teenage protagonists are pitted against each other in a fight to the death—is all this hype a good thing for young, would-be fans? The intended age for young adult novels is 12 to 17, but the books’ popularity has piqued the interest of much younger readers. Not wanting to sully their younger children’s budding interest in reading, many parents across the country have allowed them to read the story.
But just because your child has read The Hunger Game books, does that mean she’s ready to watch it’s bloody action unfold on the big screen? The answer will vary from child to child, but it’s a question parents of younger Hunger Game fans need to ask. Full story »
by Childrens Hospital Boston staff on October 21, 2011
Michael Rich, MD, MPH
Michael Rich, MD, MPH, is Children’s Hospital Boston’s media expert and director of Children’s Center on Media and Child Health. Take a look at his blog archive or follow him on Twitter @CMCH_Boston
On Monday, the American Academy of Pediatrics came out with a revised policy on media for kids two and younger. The recommendations for this age group are much the same as they were in 1999—that it is best for their developing brains and bodies to avoid both screen use (such as placing a toddler in front of a TV or video) and background media (such as leaving the TV on in the same room where a baby is playing)—but there is new scientific evidence to support these recommendations. An infant’s brain triples in volume in the first two years of life and research suggests that brain development during that time can benefit the most from:
We already knew that newborn brains develop in response to whatever is in their environment. New research from the past 12 years suggests that interacting with people, exploring the physical world (like stacking blocks or “reading” board books), and playing in open-ended ways are great for that development. And no matter how “educational” their content, screen media can’t provide that kind of environment.
That said, screen media aren’t toxic for babies—they’re just not really what they need. And other kinds of media, like music and books, can be great for kids of this age group. The updated AAP policy statement also recognizes that there are good screen media options for preschoolers, whose brains have developed to the point where they can learn from electronic screens. Full story »
by Tripp Underwood on August 25, 2011
Have you heard about the new kids’ book, “Maggie Goes on a Diet”? It’s basically a retelling of the age-old ugly ducking fable, but with a modern twist. In this reenactment, the duckling is a 14-year-old girl who goes on a diet, and with a little hard work goes from being an overweight, self-conscious kid to a star soccer player and the most popular girl in school.
The book may stress the importance of healthful eating and exercise, but many people are finding fault with the author’s emphasis on the thin = happy storyline, instead of focusing on the importance of health.
Among the critics is our own Dr. Claire, who was on New England Cable News this morning to talk about Maggie, childhood obesity and how to send kids the right message about health and weight.
Full story »
by Childrens Hospital Boston staff on July 15, 2011
By Lauren Rubenzahl, EdM, program coordinator at Children’s Center on Media and Child Health (CMCH).
Last night at midnight, the final installment of the Harry Potter movies opened in theaters, creating exhilaration and, maybe, a sense of loss for those who have grown up with Hogwarts on the brain and magic in the air.
Since his first appearance in 1997, Harry has cast a spell on the hearts of Muggle children, teens and adults everywhere. The stories have been credited with engaging tentative readers, and with getting them to read longer books than many adults thought they were ready for. But that level of engagement isn’t all magic. It’s believed that Harry’s adventures may be organized in such a way as to better connect with readers on a personal level as they age. With each book, Harry is another year older, the story is longer, and the intensity is greater. Because of this gradual maturation, legions of Potter-ites say they felt like they’ve grown up with Harry.
It’s an interesting story-telling technique, but it could present a problem for some families with young readers who are just discovering the series. When Harry’s adventures were originally released, kids had no choice but to wait the few years in between books; by the time the next one was published, they were usually ready for its content. But now the books are all readily available, so asking a young reader to wait a year or two in between installments could be met with a lot of resistance. What’s more, few parents want to discourage their children’s budding enthusiasm for reading and will allow their children to read the later Potter stories earlier than the author may have intended. (It’s suggested that his youngest readers should be about Harry’s age in any given book.) Full story »
by Childrens Hospital Boston staff on June 2, 2011
Yesterday marked the close of Better Speech and Hearing Month, and as most parents will tell you, few developmental milestones are more exciting than a baby learning to talk. From sounds and syllables, to words and sentences, the first few months of a child’s language development can be some of the proudest moments for parents. But because budding communication skills are so important (and fun to watch) a lot of toy companies have flooded the market with products designed to assist in children’s speech development. As a parent it’s natural to want to give your young talker every advantage available, but are fancy toys and DVDs really the best ways to help your child’s language development? Hope Dickinson, MS, CCC-SLP, coordinator of the Speech-Language Pathology Services at Children’s Hospital Boston at Waltham and Lisa Schonberger, MS, CCC-SLP coordinator of speech-language pathology services in Children’s Hospital Boston at Lexington are here with some answers.
Hope Dickinson, MS, CCC-SLP
Parents often ask the clinicians in the Speech Language Pathology Program here at Children’s Hospital Boston which toys are the best to promote language and communication in young children. With so many items available it can seem overwhelming, but our philosophy is that the chosen toy or activity is not nearly as important as the interaction that takes place between a parent and child while the toy is being used. As a rule, you don’t need to spend money on the latest and greatest educational toys or high-tech gadgets; most of the time it’s the simple, “old fashioned” toys that work best. By requiring more interaction and communication between child and caregiver during playtime, these toys do more to promote language development than many of their next generation equivalents. When choosing toys for your young talker, here are a few tips:
- Avoid too many “solitary” activities like video games, computer games and DVDs or TV programs (this includes all the “educational” ones too). Instead, have your child engage in activities that require interaction, sharing and conversation. There is not a DVD or computer game out there that can provide better vocabulary input than an involved parent or caregiver.
- Unplug your toy box! Newer versions of old classics (e.g., ring stackers, farms, dollhouses, toy cars and dolls…) often come with lights and sounds nowadays. Press on the mud button and you hear a pig squeal, squeeze a doll’s foot and she asks for a hug, etc. The level of sophistication in some of these products is a testament to how far toys have come in a few years, but when a toy does all of the “work,” there is less need for the child to use his own imagination. They become more passive learners. If you have electronic versions of some of these toys, take the batteries out and let your child develop her pretend, problem solving and communication skills while playing with them.
- Pretend play items such as a farm, zoo, doctor kit, workbench, doll house or play phones encourage narrative play and help young children’s language and social skills. Use them with your children and you’re likely to be amazed with all the scenarios and storylines they come up with. As their playmate, you can teach new words or concepts related to what you are playing with, help them understand cause and effect, learn sequences and solve problems.
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Lisa Schonberger, MS, CCC-SLP
Look for toys that can be used in a number of ways and can therefore “grow” with your child. Blocks can be stacked and knocked down, used as chairs for dolls, lined up and counted, sorted by color, used to build a house and make a great low-calorie substitution for pretend “cookies” at a tea party. This symbolic substitution is an important cognitive step, and is great fun too.
- Board games are not bored games. Games can be lively and interactive and are great for language growth. Games can be useful for building memory skills and vocabulary, and for teaching concepts like colors, sizes, and quantities. Some favorites in this category are Go Fish, Blurt, Scattergories, Boggle, Simon Says, Quiddler, I Spy, 20 Questions, Scrabble, Guess Who? and Memory. Full story »
by Matt Cyr on January 31, 2011
I don’t usually like to do Thrive posts that wrap up a previous week’s events, but last week was an interesting and exciting week on Thrive and at Children’s Hospital Boston, so I thought I’d break my own rule just this once (and I reserve the right to break it again!)
The post by Dr. Brian Skotko (shown here with his sisters Kristin and Allison) generated a lot of conversation—and controversy.
The most widely read, shared and commented on post—by far—was Dr. Brian Skotko’s thought-provoking article, “Will babies with Down syndrome slowly disappear?” Dr. Skotko, a clinical genetics fellow in Children’s Down Syndrome Program and the brother of a young woman with Down syndrome, talked about a new study that says mothers-to-be will soon be able to get a simple blood test during the first trimester of pregnancy that will let them know if their baby will have Down syndrome. This caused Dr. Skotko to ask: Full story »
by Childrens Hospital Boston staff on January 14, 2011
Michael Rich, MD, MPH
Michael Rich, MD, MPH, is Children’s Hospital Boston’s media expert and director of Children’s Center on Media and Child Health. Take a look at his blog archive or follow him on Twitter @CMCH_Boston
Throughout 2010 Thrive readers asked Children’s Hospital Boston’s media expert, Michael Rich, MD, MPH questions about the effect media has on kids. According to our records, these are the 10 most-viewed questions of the year, along with Rich’s responses.
1. What are some good kids’ movies for my 5 year old to enjoy?
2. How do Facebook and Twitter affect social skills?
3. Which computer games are good for my 2 year old?
4. Will video games cause seizures in my children? Full story »
by Childrens Hospital Boston staff on October 22, 2010
Michael Rich, MD, MPH
Michael Rich, MD, MPH, is Children’s Hospital Boston’s media expert and director of Children’s Center on Media and Child Health. Take a look at his blog archive or follow him on Twitter @CMCH_Boston.
Last week he touted the merits of audio books over TV, this week he helps a mother worried about the suggestive nature of her daughter’s Halloween costume.
Q: My pre-teen daughter is dying to go as a sexy vampire for Halloween (she’s a big Twilight fan) but I just don’t feel comfortable with her running around the neighborhood in a short skirt, tight top, and lots of makeup, costume or not. What can I say to her without making this such a big deal?
-Bella’s Nemesis in Belchertown, MA Full story »
