Tag: PARENTING

Share There's a good chance that young children growing up in today's world will learn how to use an iPad before learning how to tie their shoes. That's the takeaway from a new study by online security firm AVG, which found that 58-percent of kids between the ages of 2 and 5 know how to play a "basic computer game," while a full 63-percent know how to turn a computer off and on. Most young ...

Today's teenage bullies may conduct the majority of their schoolyard terrorism on Facebook, but parents are quickly catching on, and doing their best to mitigate cyberbullying. The New York Times Magazine recently investigated what some parents are doing to counteract online bullying, and, not surprisingly, found a pretty wide variety of approaches. Some run to the police, while others choose to ...

A new 'Stop. Think. Connect.' public service announcement from RSA (the security division of tech firm EMC) aims to educate kids about the importance of online awareness. Its intentions are honorable, but -- given the video's Kid 'N Play style -- it seems that RSA's creative team is a bit out of touch. What, was DJ Lance already booked? Check out the sweet hand-jam at 1:15, after the break. ...

Last month, a group of researchers in the U.K. discovered that school-age kids who spend more than two hours a day in front of a computer or television screen tend to display more serious behavioral problems than their less tech-addled counterparts. And, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, the two-hour threshold even applies to preschoolers, as well. But how many tots actually adhere ...

If your child spends most of his days staring at some kind of screen, he may very well grow up to be a psycho, according to one new U.K. study, at least. The study, conducted by researchers from the University of Bristol, involved a group of children aged 10 to 11, each of whom were given a standard test to measure behavioral problems, and asked to report the amount of time they spend in front of ...

New parents may be a notoriously finicky bunch, but their paranoia is usually well founded. With all the horror stories of babies dying from SIDS, sleep apnea, and negligent babysitters, it's no wonder that so many mamas and papas treat their infants like fabergé eggs. Soon, though, the hyper vigilant parents of the world may be able to sleep a little easier, thanks to a new set of pajamas ...

Not long ago (although it may seem like an eternity for some), kids learned of exotic locations and their inhabitants through handwritten interactions with distant pen pals. That specific reference to a writing implement increasingly loses relevance in today's lexicon, though, so parents may need to consider a modernized adaptation -- perhaps "Skypals" might be more appropriate. As modern kids ...

The debate surrounding the effect of violent video games on today's youth is a pretty contentious one: some insist that superfluous exposure to violence only encourages similar behavior in hormonally charged teenagers; others argue that a child's behavioral problems have more to do with parenting than what games he or she plays after school. According to a recent study, though, games' effects on ...

Texting your way to carpal tunnel syndrome at the age of 16 is extreme, but what about the rest of America's teenage youth? Has texting now replaced actual speech as teenage lingua franca? A recent survey conducted as part of the Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project finds that 75-percent of teens now own cell phones, up from just 45-percent in 2004. Researchers also find that ...

Babies these days just can't catch a break. When parents aren't turning their infants into LOLCats, they're posting every waking moment (literally) of their existence to the Internet for the whole world to go gaga over. Or, every now and then, they're dumb enough to publish photos so scandalous that social services comes a-knocking. The BBC reports that police in Essex, U.K. have undertaken a ...

digg_url ='http://www.switched.com/2009/10/12/10-rules-for-dealing-with-family-on-facebook/'; It's probably the scariest friend request you'll ever get: Your mom (or dad... or, God forbid, grandparent) has joined Facebook – and they want to connect. Sure, you love them – and you're happy they're embracing the digital age – but do you really want to keep them that informed ...

While cell phones and social networking provide kids with a sense of independence and maturity, that same technology also ensures that a particularly nosy and invasive group can keep a tight clamp on newly found teen cyber-freedom. According to the Washington Post, parents are increasingly using online grading systems, Facebook, and text messaging to not only keep tabs on their kids, but, more ...

Blogs can be substantial money-makers for enterprising mothers who are willing to describe the daily tribulations of stay-at-home parenting. According to the New York Times, blogs such as Dooce have become so successful that some writing moms have found their blogs' advertising revenue -- or outright endorsement revenue -- to be their primary sources of income. The Times is reporting that while ...

Let's face it. Parenting is a decidedly low-tech job. But that doesn't mean you can't enlist some high-tech help to get you through that exhaustion and nervousness. To cut through the clutter, we've put together a list of gadgets to help parents survive the rough patches and better enjoy the precious moments. ...

Now that the gadget hordes have conquered the task of translating dogs' barks into something human understand, it's time to move on to that other frustrating non-speaker in your life, your baby. The Why Cry Baby Analyzer (which we can only assume was inspired by a particular 'Simpsons' episode) uses something called "advanced frequency analysis technology" to translate all that crying and ...