by Childrens Hospital Boston staff on October 14, 2011
We recently ran a post on whether or not it’s OK for parents to monitor their teenagers’ Facebook page if they suspect the child is engaging in risky behaviors like drinking or drug use. In this blog by Children’s media expert Michael Rich, MD, MPH, a parent asks for advice on how to balance her desire to respect her son’s online privacy while still setting limits on much time he spends on the computer.
Q: My 16-year-old son uses the computer constantly at home in his room and almost always claims he is doing homework. He doesn’t want me to look over his shoulder and see what he is doing when I come into his room, and frankly, I want to allow him his privacy when he is on the computer, as well as in other areas of his life. I believe that he spends too much time on the computer, to the detriment of other activities such as time with family, reading, extracurricular activities, etc., but he disagrees and doesn’t want to be controlled by his parents. Any suggestions?
-Computer confused mom, NY, NY Full story »
by Childrens Hospital Boston staff on January 24, 2010
by Claire McCarthy on December 29, 2009
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.
From swine flu to obesity to dangerous plastics, many issues that affect children’s health garnered media attention in the year 2009. Here’s a rundown of the some of the biggest and most important stories:
H1N1
This is the story that caught the most attention—for good reason. Not only is the H1N1 influenza virus very contagious, it appears to particularly affect young people. H1N1 caused more pediatric hospitalizations and deaths than we usually see with the seasonal influenza virus, which is very scary for parents (and pediatricians!). The virus led to countless school closings—sometimes to control the spread, and sometimes because there weren’t enough teachers left to teach! Full story »
by Claire McCarthy on December 17, 2009
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.
It’s nearly school vacation time—and you’re probably making plans (or will, once your shopping is finished) for things that will keep the kids busy during their time off. Museums, concerts, playdates—whatever fills the days in a useful, educational way. Because you can’t leave the days blank, right?
Actually, you can. And sometimes leaving them blank is exactly what children (and families) need. Full story »
by Childrens Hospital Boston staff on October 18, 2009
by Childrens Hospital Boston staff on October 16, 2009
Media expert Michael Rich, MD, MPH, director of the Center on Media and Child Health at Children’s Hospital Boston, answers your questions about media use. Last week, he discussed which computer games are good for your 2-year-old.
Here’s this week’s question:
Q: Texting, cruising the Internet, and Facebooking are interfering with my son’s academic goals and adding stress to our family life (we have three kids, 16, 13, and 9). He is very bright and wants to excel in school, but the lure and addictive quality of social and entertainment media undermine his nightly goals. We’ve already eliminated weekday TV and gaming, but taking technology away completely seems to encourage sneaking and secrets. What facts and tips can you share that will help my wife and me and, ultimately, our son learn to manage media wisely?
-Determined Dad in Short Hills, NJ Full story »
by Childrens Hospital Boston staff on October 10, 2009
Other stories we’ve been reading:
• The Washington Post reports on an interactive Web site from Microsoft Corp that employs the same triage calculations used by clinicians at Emory University to help determine when patients under 12 should see a doctor about their flu symptoms.
• A study led by Nina S. Kadan-Lottick, MD, MSPH, FAAP, of the Yale Cancer Center, shows that nearly 50 percent of childhood cancer survivors never marry.
• The Boston Globe finds that many Massachusetts hospitals are increasing their focus on the patient experience by offering more amenities such as free wireless service, flat screen TVs and a greater number of private rooms.
• WebMD reports on a new survey from the September issue of Pediatrics which shows that a majority of parents don’t know how to properly determine their child’s correct height and weight based on the growth charts provided by their pediatricians.
• Yahoo News reports on the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) findings that schools are making slight improvements in limiting some types of junk food available on school property, just not all junk food. Full story »
by Melissa Jeltsen on September 18, 2009
For those of you wondering why our Facebook page looks different, here’s the scoop. Several months ago, a wonderful fan, Nazeefa Fatima, was kind enough to set up a fan page for Children’s Hospital Boston. Well, we had a Facebook page too and thought it might be confusing to fans, since many folks on Nazeefa’s pages thought they were interacting directly with the hospital. We worked with Nazeefa to merge all the fans onto this new fresh page (thanks, Nazeefa!). We hope this page will be as engaging as the previous ones, so please check it out, and feel free to nudge us on.
