Center on Media and Child Health

Dr. Rich Answers Parents' Questions

CMCH Director, Dr. Michael Rich, is now answering questions about media and kids on Parents.com, the website of Parents magazine. 

There have been a number of interesting questions such as:

• I never thought I would even consider a gaming system for the family, but after seeing (and playing) the Nintendo Wii I am really thinking of purchasing one.   My oldest is 3 and I have a baby I am nursing so we are spending more time sitting around.  What is your opinion of this idea?
• You have mentioned that violence in media desensitizes children to that aspect of life.  Has there been any research on how to reverse whatever effects the media might have?
• I have an almost 3 month old and though I never specifically put my baby in front of the television, I do watch television with him in the room.  What kind of residual effect might this have?  Wakeful nights without television would be even longer than they already are. What age/developmental stage do infants begin to understand what they are seeing?

To see Dr. Rich's answers or ask your own questions, visit the message board.

On Demand: Appropriate Control, or Encouraging Impatience?

How does having TV on-demand affect children? In The Boston Globe this week, CMCH Director Dr. Michael Rich attempted to answer this question.

He says that although we don't really know how the ability to see what they want when they want affects kids, we do know that, if overused, on-demand media can be as much of a trap as any other kind -- especially when parents feel the need to keep their kids constantly entertained. And as Dr. Rich points out, "If there's nothing good on TV...that's a good reason to turn the set off."

Potential problems aside, however, the article suggests that on-demand media can be a boon to parents and children alike by allowing parents to:

• Substantially reduce their kids' exposure to TV advertising
• Store a selection of child-appropriate shows to use as desired
• Hold off on watching a particular show until the time is right (e.g., it's not too late at night, homework is finished, etc.)

>> See how one parent discovered the benefits of having a DVR
>> See our guide to using DVRs to help your family

The Problems and Promises of Video Games

In April, Dr. David Bickham, Staff Scientist at CMCH, spoke at Penn State's Institute for Information Policy conference titled Playing to Win: The Business and Social Frontier of Videogames.  The goal of the meeting was to bring together experts whose work centers on the economic, social and cultural aspects of videogames. 

A video of Dr. Bickham's 30 minute presentation is available online (seems to work best in Internet Explorer).  He outlines the benefits and concerns about video games according to recent research, and explains how research on this topic is conducted. 

April Newsletters: Electronics Recycling, Food and TV

The monthly CMCH e-newsletters are now available for April.  To subscribe, see www.cmch.tv/newsletter.asp

• Parents' Issue
• Teachers' Issue
• Researchers' Issue

Let's Talk About Sex(ual content)

CMCH Librarian Brandy King will be presenting at the 6th Annual Summit of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood.  The Summit will take place April 3rd-5th at Wheelock College, and will focus on the theme "Consuming Kids: The Sexualization of Children and Other Commercial Calamities." 

Ms. King will present research about sex and media followed by a live website tour of CMCH resources designed to help researchers pursue study on this topic.

See CMCH resources on sex and media

March Newsletters: TV in Bedrooms and Techno Time-Outs

The monthly CMCH e-newsletters are now available for March.  To subscribe, see www.cmch.tv/newsletter.asp

• Parents' Issue
• Teachers' Issue
• Researchers' Issue

TV Dinners

63% of homes have the television on during meals.  Research has shown a number of concerns about this practice such as:

• People eat more junk food and fewer fruits and vegetables while watching TV
• People eat more food while watching TV than while listening to music

Dr. Michael Rich, Director of CMCH, was interviewed for a podcast on this topic where he discusses what the research shows and explores options for parents.

January Newsletters Available

The monthly CMCH e-newsletters are now available for January.  To subscribe, see www.cmch.tv/newsletter.asp

• Parents' Issue: MySpace and Friendster safety tips; a mother who uses ideas from "Dora the Explorer" to make errands easier.
• Teachers' Issue: Media literacy and nutrition; McDonald's report card promotion.
• Researchers' Issue: CMCH food marketing research; call for proposals on food marketing.

Holidays <--> Media: Gift Ideas from CMCH

The holidays influence the sale of media just as much as media influence the holidays.  Kids across the US have wish lists full of media items: video games and the systems to play them on; CDs and the Mp3 players they'll use to listen to them; cell phones, DVDs, laptops and on and on and on....

The media is a major avenue that advertisers use to show off their new products so that they'll get added to those wish lists; radio and TV stations play holiday music and movies to get people in the holiday mindset; and the Internet provides the major avenue for $700 million in sales (and $488 million in lost productivity) on Cyber Monday.

So...in honor of Black Friday and the start of the holiday madness, we present to you Holiday Gift Ideas from CMCH.

Target's Target: Manhunt2

Target stores have removed Manhunt2 from their video game shelves a week after its release on Halloween.  The premise of this violent game is that the player is a patient trying to escape from a mental hospital who must kill or be killed.  An added concern over the violence in this game came because it was released for Wii, a game system where players must use a motion-sensing wand to act out how they want the character onscreen to behave.   

Originally rated M for Mature audiences, child advocates convinced raters that the game should be rated AO for Adults Only, meaning that no one under 17 could purchase it.  After modifying the game, the creators were able to return to the M rating before the game was released.  Dr. Michael Rich, Director of CMCH, was interviewed about his thoughts on the game and the ratings controversy.

• See Video