Koy Roberts, Ph.D.

Don’t forget their sleep.  Still more research indicating the importance of sleep.  We so often neglect this in the interest of homework, extracurriculars and the busy-ness of life.  Teenagers, too!

First treatment center for Internet addiction opens in the U.S.  We are evidently behind other countries in recognizing and treating this problem.  Internet addiction isn’t officially recognized as a mental disorder.  However, the recent edition of the Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders cites “Gaming Addiction” as an area for further research.  Here’s hoping this area gets the attention it deserves by clinicians and researchers.  I know we are behind this problem not out in front of it.

Dr. James Wolf is losing his battle with pancreatic cancer.  He has 4-6 months to live.  His mission in life has been to make a difference.  He’s got nothing to worry about because he’s done that for the most important person, his daughter, Rachel.

Why watching Charlie Brown could be much better for your children than movies like Kung Fu Panda, Wreck It Ralph, Turbo and Planes.  Tough lessons about failure and humility vs “You can do anything” movies that reinforce the cult of self esteem.  Younger generations often suffer from narcissism because they take it for granted that we should all feel good about ourselves, we are all special and we all deserve to follow our dreams.

I watched Headline News’ hour long special on Children’s Safety and the Predator Test with my two kids.  HLN’s Kyra Phillips put 20 children to the test, seven of which failed.  My 10 year old would have passed but my 6 year old fell for it hook, line and sinker.  Teaching “Stranger Danger” can be misleading because most predators act nice, kind and unassuming.

The top predictor of how much TV a child watches is how much the parents watch.  Just one more lesson proving our kids emulate what we do rather than what we say or tell them to do.

Turns out it ranks just as damaging as peer to peer bullying.  What many consider as a normal, healthy aspect of growing up is anything but healthy.  This is especially prevalent and needs attention during the summer months when siblings are home alone or spend increasing amounts of time together. 

The CDC released a study that says suicide now kills more Americans than car accidents.  The World Health Organization estimates that by 2030 Depression will be an epidemic.  I think we’ll all agree with this doctor who says we’ve got a major problem on our hands.

Anxiety Disorders are the most common mental health issues effecting kids and teenagers. However, they are usually untreated, undetected or misdiagnosed.  Rather than viewing your child as fragile and shielding them from stress and fear-producing situations the key is exposing them to feared stimuli or situations.  Think of it as inoculating your child.  Exposure to the fear produces immunity.  The child learns that the fear is unreasonable, they have the ability to conquer the fear and they build confidence to do it again and deal with other anxiety-provoking situations.  Equally important is the role we as parents take.  We need to coach them and help them develop positive, rationale ways of thinking about anxiety while careful not to be overprotective or manifest anxiety ourselves.  Our children take their cues from us.  We need to demonstrate calm, matter-of-fact ways of helping our children and instilling confidence in them.