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A new study published in Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine suggests that the majority of college students who post on Facebook about drunkenness and dangerous drinking habits are also at a higher risk for alcohol abuse and dependence.
The message seems fairly obvious, but the real interesting takeaway of the study is the researchers’ suggestions about how that information could be used. Full story »
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Claire McCarthy, MD
Recently I went to a Verizon store to upgrade my phone (to an iPhone!). I had my 10-year-old and 5-year-old with me, as my big kids weren’t available for babysitting; this will be quick, I told them.
Of course (in that Murphy’s Law kind of way) it wasn’t quick at all; I had to wait more than twenty minutes for someone to help me. But Natasha and Liam didn’t mind. They went straight to the iPads on display, and navigated them without any help from me. Natasha found a puzzle application and started putting puzzles together. Liam found a drum set application and started making up songs, adding his own lyrics and dance moves.
As I watched them so fully and happily engaged in activities that required concentration and creativity, I thought (as I have so many times): there’s a lot that’s good about digital media.
We pediatricians tend to be very negative about “screens” when we talk with families. We stress the 2-hour limit to help prevent obesity. We warn about Facebook depression, exposure to violence and sex, cyberbullying and online predators. We talk about how texting can keep kids up at night and how video games can contribute to ADHD.
Don’t get me wrong: these are important messages. There are very real risks associated with the internet and media. We need to keep kids healthy and safe; that’s our job as pediatricians and parents. But when we are just negative, we miss two important points: Full story »
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Dr. Claire McCarthy is a primary care physician and the Medical Communications Editor at Children’s Hospital Boston. Take a look at her blog archive and follow her on Twitter @drClaire.
A law proposed in California would require that social networking sites like Facebook take down content from the profiles of children under 18 if their parents request it.
On the flip side: Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, thinks that more children under 13 should be allowed to join social network sites. He says that they offer educational opportunities, and that children can learn from each other.
So who is right? Should kids be kept off Facebook until they are 18—or allowed on it when they are 8?
I don’t think either one is right. Full story »
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Image: Flickr/uberculture
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released a report Monday, saying teenagers who over use social media, like Facebook and twitter, could be engaging in risky behavior, with long-lasting, negative consequences. To prevent social media from becoming problematic, the AAP recommends parents monitor, and when necessary, limit their children’s use of social networking tools and websites.
But before you confiscate your kids’ cell phones and delete their Facebook accounts, it’s important to note that the AAP acknowledges that social media can be a healthy part of kids’ communication, assuming they have the proper guidelines.
“Engaging in social media is a routine activity that research has shown to benefit children and adolescents,” the report reads. “Social media allows teens to accomplish online many of the tasks that are important to them offline: staying connected with friends and family, making new friends, sharing pictures, and exchanging ideas.”
Translation: It’s not the technology that dangerous, but how it’s used that can be harmful. Constant access to information is a double-edged sword, and parents need to be mindful of that when examining their children’s online activities. For every website offering homework help, there is a site that helps kids cheat on tests. The same phone that lets them text you when they’re running late from soccer practice can easily be used to send wildly inappropriate pictures to her crush from biology class. Full story »
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USA Today reports that according to a new study, many heavy-set moms and children think they are slimmer than they actually are – a trend that pediatricians and other doctors have been noticing. Children’s Claire McCarthy, MD, adds that that roughly half of her patients are overweight or obese.
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American Medical News reports on a recent study that concluded many hospitals are not recognizing the full benefits of social networking through Facebook; though they may have a presence, they let their page sit idle. The report also stated that children’s hospitals are more likely than others to maintain an effective Facebook presence. Children’s Ryan Paul, social media specialist, provides comment on the Children’s Facebook page.
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MedPage Today reports on recent findings from Children’s Dale Umetsu, MD, PhD, Lynda Schneider, MD, and colleagues that show children who are allergic to milk may develop a tolerance by taking certain medication coupled with a gradual increase in their exposure to milk.
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New England Sports Network (NESN) reports that they have teamed up with the Boston Bruins Foundation and Hess to donate $50,000 to the Children’s Hospital Brain Injury Program. Children’s David Mooney, MD, MPH, discussed the program at last night’s Bruins game.
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USA Today reports on new research from Children’s Leonard Zon, MD, in which zebrafish serve as animal models of melanoma, developing a form of the disease genetically similar to human skin cancer tumors. The studies of zebrafish suggest that excessive activity of two genes, rather than mutation to them, are the keys to melanoma. The Boston Globe also reported on the findings.
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President and First Lady Obama, along with the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services, will be hosting a conference on bullying prevention today at the White House. And considering how tech savvy today’s kids are, cyber-bullying will be a key component of the conversation. Keeping with that theme Facebook will play an active role in the summit by hosting a live screening of the conference and digital discussion on how people can make the Internet a safer place for children by promoting a deeper sense of respect and understanding Online.
To watch the conference and join the conversation, please check out some of the Facebook pages dedicated to the summit. In conjunction with national efforts to raise awareness on bullying, Children’s has recently launched an anti-bullying collaborative called the BACPAC (Bullying And Cyberbullying Prevention & Advocacy Collaborative). The following are stories Thrive has run on the subject of bullying and how the effort to reduce its prevalence will require a cohesive approach that involves parents, educators, the medical community and our children.
A year on, what Phoebe Prince has taught us about bullying
Claire McCarthy, MD
In this post Dr. Claire McCarthy weighs in on what the tragic case of Phoebe Prince has taught us all about the deep emotional scars bullying can leave.
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Joshua Feblowitz, a former Children’s writer and patient, shares what it was like for him growing up with a severe food allergy and how he was occasionally a bully target because of it.
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Parental bullying and overweight kids
Overweight children are more likely to be bullied than other children. But their torment isn’t limited to the playground. Read a story that focuses on how some parents’ “tough love” approach to getting their children to lose weight borders on parental bullying.
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Middle school’s no walk in the park
Like Phoebe Price, 13 year-old Thea Hickey was also bullied at school and Online. In the following first-person account, Thea talks about her own bullying experience and offers advice to kids and adults about how to better address the problem.
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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 »
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Here’s a quick look at what Thrive was up to last week:
Sleep deprivation affects how we interpret emotional cues. The FDA is tired of misleading food labels. Second hand smoke has deadly consequences. Children’s launches a new stem cell website. One mother tells her story of finding out her daughter has celiac disease. Do you know what disease sounds like? Children’s Facebook fan page reaches 100,000 fans. Ray Tye, a noted children’s philanthropist, dies. Michael Agus, MD, reports back from Haiti – twice. Should you take your kids to see Alice in Wonderland?
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