With the news of football star Tom Brady’s ex-girlfriend pregnant with his child and Britney Spears’ fall from grace occuring in
the public eye, it is clear that celebrities are human after all.

Director of CMCH, Dr. Michael Rich
, suggests using these stories as “teachable moments” with your children to discuss what they think of the heroes they often
“worship” through the media.


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Between text messaging on their cell phones and instant messagining on computers, teens today are using shorthand and electronics to communicate.
Some experts worry that they don’t know proper grammar or spelling and that they don’t know how to communicate in face-to-face situations.

Director of CMCH, Dr. Michael Rich
, said he sees “less and less face-to-face interaction and conversation” in his patients. However “the Internet
gives shy adolescents the chance to reach out to people.”

“A growing number of Web sites cater to kids as young as 8 with three-dimensional virtual worlds where visitors
create avatars (digital characters), furnish their own ‘rooms,’ play games and interact in real-time.” But some experts question
the benefits on online environments such as these.

Director of CMCH, Dr. Michael Rich, worries about “‘immersive’ online worlds that are, well, too immersive. ‘You can get sucked in and spend three or four hours without standing up,’ he said.”


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A new study in Pediatrics found that over 40% of kids unintentionally come across pornography when they
are online. Dr. David Bickham
, Staff Scientist at CMCH, suggests considering filtering software.


“While exposure to pornography online is beginning to be a normative experience,
installing filtering software on your computer will help delay the initial exposure,” he said.

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