iPhone has come up with new applications developed for toddlers. Products such as Shape Builder and ABC Memory Match allow young children to make shapes by dragging and dropping digital puzzle pieces on the iPhone’s touch screen.

CMCH Director, Dr. Michael Rich argues that playing with cell phones at such young age may “stifle creativity and socialization because they feed words and images rather than encourage imagination.”
Dr. Rich reminds parents that at this young age, learning shapes and letters comes in second place after socialization, which is the number-one developmental goal for that age group.

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Childhood obesity is a pressing health problem and pediatricians recommend that children engage in healthy eating habits and physical activity. Innovative toys, such as the recently launched Pumgo Scooter, can also help fight childhood obesity by encouraging outdoor physical activity.

When it comes to dealing with childhood obesity, CMCH Director, Dr. Michael Rich
recommends parents to focus on the positive and argues that physical activity should be focused on health and fitness, and not on losing weight.

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A new study recently presented at Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting in Baltimore reveals that teens who watched adult-themed movies and television programming as children become sexually active at a younger age than their peers.
According to Dr. David Bickham , Staff Scientist at CMCH and co-author of the study, adult entertainment deals with issues that adults face, including sexuality. Dr. Bickham argues that “children learn from the media, and when they watch media with sexual references and innuendos, our research suggests they are more likely to engage in sexual activity earlier in life.”

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CMCH Blog “Will Technology in the Classroom Change How Kids Learn?”
was featured on
Businessweek’s Technology in the Classroom, a blog which looks at stories and efforts by educators to use technology in the classroom.

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