Koy Roberts, Ph.D.

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.

The bombings at the Boston Marathon are terrifying from a distance.  For my family it hits close to home not because we knew one of the victims.  If you search the archives of my blog you’ll see a picture of me and my wife after she ran the Boston Marathon a few years ago.  I watched and waited for her near those areas where the bombs went off.  I’m also an avid marathon runner myself so this news is especially difficult to process for me and my family.  If you have a child like mine it presents even more challenges.  My 10 year old daughter is a worrier and prone to anxiety.  The fact that her mother and I were at the Boston Marathon a few years ago coupled with the knowledge that I travel several times per year to run marathons presents a difficult situation for her to wrap her mind around. The key is to remain calm, composed and relaxed. Find out what they know and correct any inaccuracies.  Reassure and give extra attention and physical touch.  Our children take their emotional cues from us.  Shelter them from the news and images as much as possible.  Contact their teachers like I did to make them aware and ask for their help in monitoring any discussions, information or misinformation children share amongst themselves.  Preventing these discussions amongst children without adult or parental supervision is important.  Here a a few links to assist you as you help your children cope with this tragedy.

Studies on the effects of youth playing violent video games continues to be murky.  It’s pretty clear that it leads to an increase in aggression in the short term but researchers are unsure if it directly leads to longer term effects such as those who continue to act out or engage in violence seen in school shootings.  This much is evident.  Parents should carefully screen and monitor what their children are playing because of the values, morals and ethics they are learning from gaming or media.