Is social media ruining our kids? How much Internet activity is too much? What do FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), sexting, and selfies mean for teens? Are you curious about what research says about how media and technology are affecting childhood? Supported by academic research focused on technology, Media Moms & Digital Dads breaks down complex issues in a friendly, accessible fashion, making it a highly useful and, ultimately, reassuring read for anyone who worries about the impact that media might be having on young minds. Each chapter delves into a different issue related to kids and media so parents can easily find their particular issue of concern. Dr. Uhls ends each chapter with quick takeaways, in the form of tips and guidance for parents. Dr. Uhls' expertise as a former Hollywood film executive and as a current expert on child development and the media gives her a unique and important perspective. As a trained scientist she understands the myriad studies conducted by researchers, and as a mom of digital teens, she knows what actually works and can relate to the reality of being a parent in the 21st century. Dr. Uhls also describes the primary research she conducted at UCLA, including whether extensive screen time impacts non-verbal emotional understanding, which has been covered in the New York Times, Time magazine, and on National Public Radio. There are few more important issues for parents today than helping children safely navigate the digital world in which we live, a world that provides immense opportunity for learning and connecting yet also puts kids in a position to make mistakes and even cause harm. Knowing what the facts are and when and how to get involved is perhaps one of the most challenging aspects of modern parenting. Media Moms & Digital Dads offers parents reassuring and fact-based guidance on how best to manage screens and media for their children.

"A new media was unleashed upon the world and children took to it like ducks to water. Young people everywhere devoured its content, spending hours upon end immersed in it, while simultaneously ignoring the adults in their lives. Parents were understandably alarmed and worried that this new media was ruining young minds. It may surprise you to know that this new media was not the Internet, radio, or television but rather the 19th-century novel. Yes, parents were concerned that reading too much Jane Austin was going to ruin their children. Fast forward to today and we are still having the same conversation. Will digital media, in its various forms, ruin our children? In Media Moms & Digital Dads, former film producer turned child psychologist Yalda Uhls cautions parents not to be afraid of the changing state of media but to deal with the realities of how our kids engage with it. The truth is children today spend more time with media than they do with parents or in schools. And as parents, many of us did not have early exposure to the Internet, mobile phones, and gaming, making the world of our children somewhat foreign to us. The key, says Uhls, is to understand the pros and cons of media so that parents can make informed decisions about cause and effect, boundaries and exposure. Uhls debunks the myths around media by delving into the extensive body of social science research, proving that our kids are all right, and that parents can and must adapt to help their children thrive in the digital age. The author explores critical questions: Do kids learn better from paper versus screens? Why do tween girls post videos of themselves online asking if they are ugly? Do children really learn from video games? Is the era of the selfie creating self-obsessed children? Does the endless stream of information and multitasking lead to distraction? Do kids learn the same things about the world when they look at faces on screens versus in real life? Is the brain changing? This ground-breaking book will draw back the curtain and reveal the truth - often surprising and counterintuitive, and other times reassuring - in order to help guide the conversation about our digital age and the future of childhood"--

A young boys revels in learning to read and describes how everyone else around him enjoys reading too.

Fifteen-year-old Lucy Willows discovers that her father had an illegitimate child, now an eight-year-old boy who lives in the same town, and she begins to question everything she thought she knew about her family and life.

"In Do Fathers Matter? the award-winning journalist and father of five Paul Raeburn overturns the many myths and stereotypes of fatherhood as he examines the latest scientific findings on the parent we've often overlooked. Drawing on research from neuroscientists, animal behaviorists, geneticists, and developmental psychologists, among others, Raeburn takes us through the various stages of fatherhood, revealing the profound physiological connections between children and fathers, from conception through adolescence and into adulthood--and the importance of the relationship between mothers and fathers. In the process, he challenges the legacy of Freud and mainstream views of parental attachment, and also explains how we can become better parents ourselves."--www.Amazon.com.

Cognitive Development in Digital Contexts investigates the impact of screen media on key aspects of children and adolescents' cognitive development. Highlighting how screen media impact cognitive development, the book addresses a topic often neglected amid societal concerns about pathological media use and vulnerability to media effects, such as aggression, cyber-bullying and Internet addiction. It addresses children and adolescents' cognitive development involving their interactions with parents, early language development, imaginary play, attention, memory, and executive control, literacy and academic performance. - Covers the impact of digital from both theoretical and practical perspectives - Investigates effects of digital media on attention, memory, language and executive functioning - Examines video games, texting, and virtual reality as contexts for learning - Explores parent-child interactions around media - Considers the development of effective educational media - Addresses media literacy and critical thinking about media - Considers social policy for increasing access to high quality education media and the Internet - Provides guidance for parents on navigating children's technology usage

Bullying is one of the most difficult areas of violence against children to eliminate, especially with the ubiquitous role that internet and mobile technology plays in their life today and the capacity this gives for bullying to continue night and day. Bullying seems to be part of human nature and has been with us since ancient times, but that is no reason to accept it fatalistically as “natural“ and, for children, part of growing up. Only in the 1970s was research first undertaken to explore the phenomenon and to attempt to understand why it takes place and its impact on individuals and societies. With the emergence of the internet and social media, bullying has taken a more sinister turn, becoming more relentless, constant and inescapable for victims. This book aims to explain to both experts and the interested layperson what is known about bullying, its causes, effects and, crucially, how it can be reduced, in particular by fostering social and emotional skills in young people. Authors from more than a dozen countries have contributed to this publication, presenting widely differing perspectives, practice and insights on how they are tackling or think we should be tackling modern societal issues such as bullying and hate speech. While some chapters focus more specifically on case studies and what the research tells us, others look at issues related to bringing up and educating children for the world we live in. This publication also provides information on the work of the ENABLE network and aims to introduce readers to the psychologists and researchers, teachers, parents and social media innovators that have helped to shape it.