My daughter had an interesting conversation with her dentist this week.   It started with teeth and ended with Say Yes to No.

In the chair, mouth open wide, the dentist takes one look and asked Erin, “Were you born in the 1980s?”  A little startled, Erin’s first thoughts were, “Oh, no, there’s something wrong with my teeth.”   She tried that dental chair response - talking with your mouth wide open - “Yes, should I have been born in the 70s?”

“No, your 80s teeth are fine, but I can always tell someone born in the 1980s from the 1990s.  There’s a real difference.”  What the dentist said next, rang Say Yes to No bells in Erin’s head.  Her dentist went on to relate that starting in the 1990s, kids were eating more than their fill of candy and pop.  It seemed to her that kids had more money and fewer restrictions on the amount of sweets they could buy.  She also found parents more willing to spend money on the resulting tooth problems than work with their kids on self-care: like brushing teeth and restricting sweets.

Erin was startled by this, but left with the resolve that self-discipline for kids can start with the little things in life, like a piece of candy.    How do you think self-discipline can start for kids?

David Walsh

Several interviewers this week asked me, “Dr. Walsh, how can parents keep their kids safe online?”   What was interesting is that after I discussed family online safety rules and keeping tabs where kids go online, the interviewer would ask, “But, Dr. Walsh, isn’t that snooping on our kids?”

I have had this same reaction several times from parents.  My response is always the same. We are increasingly living in two worlds – the one outside our door and an infinitely expanding internet world. 

When kids open the door to venture out, an on-the-job parent will ask, “Where are you going?  Who are you going with? When will you be home?”   Parents set the ground rules for where their kids can go who they can go with, and for how long they can be gone.  Parents wouldn’t think of letting their kid out into the world without ground rules.  They’ll loosen these rules as their child gets older, but they don’t let go completely.

Parents need to use this same framework for the Internet world.  It’s important to find the parenting balance.  Just as you don’t follow your kids to a friend’s house, but you want to know whose house they are at.  You don’t bug your children’s conversations, so you also don’t hover over their online use.

But, parents should set the ground rules for safety and use of the Internet: where their kids can go, who they can hang out with, and how long they can be there.  It’s not snooping when parents know where their kids are in the real world and it’s not snooping for parents to know where their kids are in the online world.  

David Walsh

Bob Howe, the executive director of the Michigan Elementary and Middle School Principals’ Association, is determined to have Michigan be the next Say Yes to No state.  Inspired by what he saw happen in Minnesota and convinced that Say Yes to No would bring important information to Michigan parents, teachers and children, Howe became an organizing force in Michigan.  He quickly brought together a coalition of parents, educators and community leaders.

I look forward to traveling to Michigan over the next year to help launch Say Yes to No in January 2009.  Leaders in Michigan have made good use of our Say Yes to No campaign organizing materials and discussion guides on our Say Yes to No website at www.sayyestono.org.  If you have participated in a Say Yes to No discussion or organized an event and have any words of advice for our Michigan partners, leave a comment and we will pass it along. 

David Walsh

David Walsh

Over the last several months many people at Little Earth of United Tribes here in Minneapolis have been working hard to spread the word about MediaWise® in their community.   Several of our tools and resources from MediaWise program through-u-Families Become MediaWise have been translated into Objibway to help in this effort.  Topics of concern for parents range from Internet safety and cell phone usage, to violence in movies, TV and video games. 

Last Saturday the Institute was honored at Little Earth’s annual Mother’s Day Pow Wow.  We say thank you for bringing MediaWise into your community and are grateful for the honor you gave to us.   Hundreds of people with their families gathered for a day of dancing and visiting with friends and family.  Drum groups from around the region led the day.  The MediaWise message has found a good home at Little Earth.

David Walsh

The Federal Trade Commission released its “secret shopper” survey of the nation’s retailers last week. Many of the top national retailers have followed through and are working to keep M rated video games out of the hands of kids. Parents should be relieved that many retailers will back them up and keep their kids from buying games like Grand Theft Auto.

Don’t forget however that many of these M-rated games are hugely popular with teens and pre-teens. Parents need to be game-savvy and check the ratings before they buy a game. Every video game displays a rating on the box, along with content descriptors. Take a moment, check the rating. If it says M, you’re holding a game that has been rated for people ages 17 and above. The content will contain graphic violence, sex, very crude language, and possibly drug and alcohol usage. These are not games for kids. So be MediaWise® - check out the ratings. Say “no” when you should. Post a comment - what’s your parenting strategy for video games?

We just released our new Brain Power video as a public service resource on You Tube.  Click here to view it and pass it along to any friends and colleagues you feel might be interested in seeing it.

As a component of our MediaWise Education program, through u, Brain Power has wowed audiences in our trainings from coast to coast.  From neurons to brain wiring, the video gives an easy-to-understand tour of children's and teens' brain development and the impact of experience on the "wiring' of their brains. Children are shaped by the stories they see and hear from parents, relatives, and teachers which pass on values, attitudes, and affect emotional and physical well-being. More than ever, media has become a powerful storyteller in children's lives. Raising healthy kids in the media age includes making wise media choices.  Send us your comments about Brain Power.

David Walsh

When I visualize a parent or caregiver interacting and talking to a baby, I see that baby’s brain light up, neurons popping and wiring all over the language center.  When I visualize that same baby watching TV, I see the same language center monotone, quiet, no connections being made.  Why?  Characters on TV are speaking words, singing, telling stories.  Why is a baby’s language center quiet?  Because babies need real world language interaction - real words from real people.

TV can interfere with babies learning and the sounds he or she needs to know to form those first words and then those first sentences.   A recent study in the May issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine found limited verbal interactions between parents and six month olds in front of TVs.  Is this a problem if it’s 5 minutes?  No.  Is it a problem if it’s a half hour or an hour or two hours a day?  Probably yes.  Babies’ brains grow at such a rapid rate during infancy that their language development needs a rich language environment to equip them with the sounds they need to form the wealth of words they need to be successful in speaking, reading and writing.  It all starts in infancy with the sounds they hear from those who love and care for them.  When are your favorite times to talk with your baby?

David Walsh