News, information and advice about navigating online and other media for families.
Kids & Media
Can Kids’ Videogame Play be Healthy?
Amidst historic wildfires and a global pandemic, virtual worlds hold an understandable appeal. Yet, many parents fear that videogames pose risks of their own – that these all-too enticing digital ecosystems may interfere with children’s healthy emotional, physical, and cognitive development. Indeed, parents have struggled to manage their kid’s videogame play, even before COVID-19 relegated […]
How to Talk to Children About Online Meanness
With many schools starting the year online, kids of all ages are spending more time than ever on their devices. While this shift is designed to help slow the spread of the coronavirus, it’s also fueling the rise of another worry for parents: online meanness. Bullying is nothing new, of course, but it takes a […]
6 Tips for Healthier Time Online During the Pandemic
When the coronavirus pandemic arrived and health officials urged us all to stay “safer at home,” no one chained us to our computers, televisions or phone screens – but they might as well have. We’ve worked and learned online, celebrated birthdays and graduations at our computers, visited grandparents and sat in on virtual camps, play […]
5 Fun Writing Prompts for Kids
We’re all looking for ways to lure our kids away from their screens for a couple of hours. Why not ignite their imaginations through the wonderful world of stories? No, I don’t mean stories in the form of movies or video games. I’m talking about the old-fashioned written word. These five writing exercises, or “prompts” […]
5 Tips to Help Your Kids Make the Most of Video Chats
Video chat using apps such as FaceTime and Skype is a great way for young children to stay in touch with long-distance family and friends. Through video chat, children have an opportunity to to build a relationship, communicate with, and learn from a loved one on the screen. Here are five ways to help your […]
Partnering to Close the Digital Divide
The Weingart Foundation has granted $100,000 to Brotherhood Crusade, Community Coalition and InnerCity Struggle to tackle the food and technology inequities, also known as the digital divide, in Los Angeles and surrounding communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Parents and families in underserved communities are primarily concerned with three major issues: the continuation of education through access to […]
Touch-Screen Generation Still Good at Face Time
Are today’s children, who grew up with mobile technology from birth, worse at reading emotions and picking up cues from people’s faces than children who didn’t grow up with tablets and smartphones? A new UCLA psychology study suggests today’s kids are alright. Infancy and early childhood are critical developmental phases during which children learn to […]
#SupportingFamilies: Library Resources You Can Use From Home
Libraries are closed, but library resources are often as close as your nearest laptop, smartphone or e-reader. Check out these options!
Tips for Managing Kids’ Cell Phone Use
Many children across the Southland received their first cell phone this holiday season, and if your kid is one of them, you may be wondering how best to monitor their usage. But getting your child a phone doesn’t need to be complicated and stressful, says Andrew Moore-Crispin, director of content at Ting Mobile — a mobile […]
Ryan’s World: Making Toy Reviews and Dental Hygiene Fun
While Ryan Kaji, the kid behind Ryan ToysReview, has 2.5 million more YouTube subscribers than Beyoncé, he tries to keep a low profile. The L.A.-based Kaji family posts Ryan’s toy review videos (www.youtube.com/ryantoysreview) daily, but screen time ends by homework time, which allows the YouTube sensation to make room for music lessons, coding, soccer and tae kwon do. Still, his life […]
5 Ways to Discover Your Child’s Academic Passion and Career Potential
What parent isn’t curious about what their child’s future holds in an academic and professional sense? If you are like many parents, you want to support your child’s childhood passion and talents to help ensure they not only have a fun and fulfilling childhood, but a rewarding career as well. Here are five tips to […]
Is Screen Time Connected to a Mental-Health Crisis?
For decades, the Volunteer Center in Torrance has run a popular community-service program for South Bay, Long Beach and harbor-area teens. A couple of years ago, staff began noticing that teens seemed less able to focus on and complete service projects. Parents, teachers and others in the community also saw changes in teens. They wondered […]
Life Lessons from Voice Actor Rob Paulsen
When talking to voice actor Rob Paulsen, you never know who might join your conversation. It could be Raphael or Donatello from “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” Carl from “Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius,” “Animaniacs” Pinky and Yakko, or other characters Paulsen has voiced during a career that spans nearly 30 years. At 63, Paulsen is busier […]
Marvels of Representation
When my son Noah managed to discover his early 5th birthday present, an authentic special-edition Miles Morales Spider-Man costume, the look on his face proved the costume was well worth the $40, plus shipping and handling. After seeing the animated movie “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” he came home and told me, “I really am Spider-Man, […]
Curbing Influencers’ Influence on Kids’ Eating
Once upon a time, adults worried about the sugary breakfast cereals advertised to kids on Saturday-morning cartoons. The times and the frontier have changed, with children as likely to tune in to YouTube or Instagram as Nickelodeon or the Disney Channel. The problem of media swaying children’s diets toward the unhealthy, however, remains the same. […]
How Pint-Size Influencers Mila & Emma Took Over Instagram
When a mom and her kids visit a café in L.A., it usually doesn’t turn heads, but the Stauffer family isn’t just any family. This family includes Instagram-famous twins Mila and Emma Stauffer, the 4-year-old stars of the clan who can hardly go out in public without being recognized. When asked if they’re famous, in […]
Julia Storm: Educating Parents About Digital Media
In my household, we were not on the same page about what age our son should be when he received his first cell phone. My husband (and son) figured turning double digits was the magical time, whereas I’d been thinking more like 13. Or 15. The guys won out, but it has been quite a […]
‘This Is Us’ Star Lonnie Chavis Expands His #FixYourHeart Message
When NBC’s “This Is Us” star Lonnie Chavis discovered that a few people trolling his Instagram account were making fun of the gap in his teeth, he clapped back. Not with retaliatory words; instead, the 10-year-old sent a message that prescribes self-reflection and self-acceptance as antidotes to eradicating a culture of bullying and low self-esteem. […]
Mallika Chopra: Making Meditation Accessible for Children and Families
An increasing number of schools and studios throughout the country are introducing children to meditation and yoga to help them deal with stress and overstimulation. Mallika Chopra, mom, author and wellness expert, wants these coping tools to be accessible to all children – even outside a workshop or class. With the publication of her new […]
Local VR Rooms Transport You to Other Worlds
If you could strap on a headset and be transported to a different time and place, would you? With virtual reality, or VR, you can. In reality, you’re just moving around in a pod (a room about 12 feet square) but the 360-degree multisensory digital experience feels more real than real itself. And the ever-evolving […]
Jake Monaco: Composing Music for Kids and Cartoons
The next time your kids watch Amazon’s “The Stinky & Dirty Show,” Netflix’s “Dinotrux” or Warner Bros. Animation’s “Be Cool, Scooby- Doo!,” take note of the whimsical music that syncs perfectly with the characters and plots. Film composer Jake Monaco is the artist behind this music, and he has a knack for producing unique tunes […]
L.A. Students Shine in Shark Tank and Math@Work Webisode
Dressed in their best, two teams of aspiring local student entrepreneurs recently marched onto ABC’s “Shark Tank” set to present their business plans to the “shark” panel. Calm and poised, Lincoln High School ninth graders Crystal Reynaga and Angela Garcia pitched Find You, a GPS watch that tracks young runners and includes an app to help their parents keep tabs on them. And eighth graders Timothy Coleman and Mauro Palomo, who attend Hawthorne Math & […]
Kid Podcast ‘Brains On!’ Explores Down Syndrome
What do your kids know about Down syndrome? How about your kids’ friends and classmates? A great, age-appropriate way for them to learn more is via the “Brains On!” podcast produced by American Public Media – with writing and reporting from L.A.’s own Sanden Totten, formerly a science reporter at public radio station KPCC. In […]
Parenting Through Middle School Students’ Perfect Storm
New parents get all the sympathy. Everyone is ready to commiserate over the sleepless nights, dirty diapers and crush of responsibility that come with the birth of a child. Our babies, after all, need our 24/7 attention and care. Parents of middle schoolers, on the other hand, don’t get much more than a grimace from […]
Setting Limits on Kids’ Smartphone Use
Much fuss has been made over the debut in early September of the latest generation of iPhones. Despite the $999 price tag for the top-of-the-line iPhone X, the news no doubt has tweens and teens asking for an upgrade. But experts are finding evidence that excess smartphone use could be connected to depression and anxiety […]
Raise Readers By Starting Your Own Book Club
Like many parents, I’m guilty of turning to digital babysitting when I need a break and the kids want some summer fun. Television or cell phone games become my go-to when I need 15 to 20 minutes of peace and quiet after a long day. I know it might not seem like good parenting, but […]
Abbie Boudreau: On Raising News-Savvy Kids
As a kid, Abbie Boudreau was curious about everything. She wanted to grow up to be an astronaut and a pastry chef. Later, as a graduate student at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, her inquisitiveness and desire to help others led her to pursue a career in broadcast journalism. The Emmy-Award winner went on […]
Geocaching With Kids for Outdoor Fun In L.A.
Armed with a modern-day treasure map (of the iPhone variety), my 4-year-old son and I beelined through the park, following the in-app compass to our destination. Ding! “You’re getting close!” the app encouraged. Our hearts were pounding as we arrived where X marked the spot. We frantically flipped over leaves, shuffled rocks and generally sleuthed […]
When the News Is Scary or Confusing
Editor’s note: This is an update of a 2015 article which, sadly, is still quite relevant and timely. Television, radio, newspapers and social media bring us news of terrorist attacks and tragedy on a daily basis. And too often, as in the case of a shooting Monday (April 10, 2017) at North Park Elementary school […]
Why This Dad Is On Pokemon Go
Last year, Los Angeles TV producer Brant Pinvidic found himself equally baffled by two things. One was the exploding popularity of the smartphone game Pokemon Go, which in the summer of 2016 was played by millions of people, including his whole family. The other was how to find common ground with his 13-year-old daughter, who […]
Digital vs. Analog: At-Home Learning Activities for Kids
Technology gives parents more ways than ever to provide a rich and engaging home learning environment for their kids. But how much is too much? Is it better to go “old-school” with plenty of books, journals to fill, and hands-on activities? Or is it best to be future-focused and provide the latest tablet computer and […]
Tara Sorensen: Creating Children’s Programming with a Mom’s Touch
One of Tara Sorensen’s favorite places to be is among books, children’s books in particular. “The Giving Tree” and “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” are a couple of her favorites. The L.A. mom of two and head of kids programming at Amazon Studios has always loved a good story with characters that leap off the page and into the imagination. It was her love of storytelling that led her […]
Parents Spend More Than Nine Hours a Day with Screen Media
A first-of-its-kind study released this month by Common Sense Media shows that parents spend more than nine hours (9:22) a day with screen media, the vast majority of that time being spent with personal media (7:43) and only slightly more than 90 minutes devoted to work media. The vast majority of these parents (78%) believe […]
When Your Ex Text Messages Too Much
Open communication between parents and children is always encouraged. For children whose parents are divorced, communication with parents should mimic how communication would operate if both parents were under the same roof. However, the non-custodial parent (aka the parent who does not have child custody at that given moment) should be careful not to abuse […]
Anti-bullying App Saves Kids a Seat
Navigating the school cafeteria can be stressful. But for 16-year-old Natalie Hampton, who lives in Sherman Oaks and was verbally, physically and cyber bullied during middle school, lunch was one of the worst parts of the day. Being seen eating by herself didn’t help. “I felt vulnerable and worthless. I also think being excluded branded […]
Finding Diversity in Children’s Books
Five Easy Ways to Find Inclusive Reads Your Kids Will Love “There were tons of brown kids just like me running around the neighborhood where I grew up in East L.A. in the mid-90s, but I never came across a single book about anyone who looked like me until high school,” says Julia Casas, youth […]
If Your Child Accidentally Sees Online Porn
If it hasn’t already, it’s going to happen. Your child will type an innocent word into an online search engine, log onto a gaming site or search for a favorite music video and stumble onto photos and video you – and often they – would rather they didn’t see. Tracy Levine Wallace wants you to […]
A Play Date With littleBits
Play dates are always fun, but getting to play the super cool creative engineer on the Disney campus is especially fun! L.A. Parent joined littleBits last week at Disney’s Creative Campus for an exclusive play date to unleash our inner inventor. Ayah Bdeir, creator of littleBits, joined the kids and adults with her product development […]
A Peek Through the Portal
How online monitoring tools are impacting education and families Remember how your kids sometimes forgot to give you the Friday folder from school or pulled it out on Monday morning for a quick signature before you’d even looked at it? Or was that just my kid? Well, there’s a new Friday folder in town, the […]
Booki Vivat Turns Doodles Into Her Debut Book
Inspiration for a writer can come for almost anywhere. An overheard conversation. A story on the news. Two paths diverged in the woods. For Booki Vivat, it was a doodle she drew that said: “I live my life in a constant state of impending doom.” That drawing evolved, eventually, into Vivat’s delightful debut book “FRAZZLED: […]
Dealing With Tragic News
Whether it’s happening in Nice, Dallas, Louisiana, Orlando, Brussels or Paris, it can sometimes feel like tragedy is also taking place right in the palm of your hand – or your child’s – via social media and smartphones. “It’s just a constant bombardment of input. I was shocked to hear that kids are getting news […]
On the Record: What Mom Really Wants for Mother’s Day
Every year when my husband asks, “What do you want for Mother’s Day?” I always respond exactly the same way: “Amor, I don’t need a Mother’s Day gift. My kids are enough.” But wait a minute, who am I kidding? I do want something! Why do I feel guilty admitting that I secretly want something […]
5 Ways To Shrink Your Child’s Digital Footprint
Yalda Uhls understands how much you want to Instagram those adorable photos of your toddler on the potty. Really, she does. And the mom of a 13-year-old girl and a 10-year-old boy is happy that Instagram wasn’t around when her children were small. “I have the cutest picture of my daughter and her friend in […]
Eyeing Digital Device Safety
Nearly 64 percent of parents spend more than five hours a day looking at digital screens. And if we’d put down our smart phones and tablets long enough, we would notice that our kids are right behind us, with 65 percent connected two hours a day or more. Those figures are from a recent report […]
A Plea for More Old-Fashioned Play
Happy New Year! Like many of you I also had a busy holiday season. This week, our kids were ready to go back to school, the house is slowly getting back to normal and routine is kicking in. If you are like our family, many gifts were given and received, especially anything that was device- […]
Mary McNamara: A Mom With a Critical Eye on TV
Mary McNamara took on her job as television critic at The Los Angeles Times in 2009. The mother of three – Danny Stayton, 17; Fiona Stayton, 15 and Darby Stayton, 9 – had been a features writer and editor at The Times for 18 years when she was offered the job. “My question was, ‘Can […]
Top Tech Tools for Families
The school year is half over and the holidays are here and I’m starting to feel the familiar overwhelm. The errands, events, work demands and to-dos seem to multiply mercilessly as I try to handle it all. And while over the years I’ve gotten better at greeting stress with a smile, it still can feel […]
A Book Club Podcast Just For Tweens
For almost 10 years, Kitty Felde hosted “Talk of the City” on local public radio station KPCC. Part of the fun was attending the L.A. Times Festival of Books and meeting listeners at the KPCC table. Parents would bring their kids with them, and the kids would say they also listened to the station. Felde’s […]
Local Programs That Give Girls a Voice
Janel Pineda always knew she loved writing, but never thought about how that could impact her life. That changed when her uncle mailed her a newspaper about a Los Angeles writing program for young girls. At age 14, Pineda joined WriteGirl, where she attended writing workshops and worked closely with a mentor throughout high school. […]
Detecting Body-Image Issues In Your Teen
What does your teen see when he or she looks in the mirror? “Body image” is how we describe what people believe about their outward appearance, how they feel about their bodies and how they sense and control their movements. Issues can occur when teens start showing signs of a negative body image, perceiving their […]
Parenting Through Technology Transitions
These tips will help you take your child from total supervision to safe driving on the digital highway. Not that long ago, a child’s road to independence was pretty straightforward. At first, you took them everywhere with you. Then, maybe, you let them walk down the street to a trusted neighbor’s house. Eventually, they made […]
Navigating Video Game Ratings
You are at the multiplex with your family and your 13 year old wants to see an ?R-rated movie because “All the kids in my class have seen it and are talking about it. I’ll be left out if I don’t see it!” Do you buy your child a ticket and let them see it […]
Bridging the Digital Divide Between Kids and Grandparents
In the digital world where we are raising our children, it seems that toddlers, teens and everyone in between is obsessed with technology and media. As growing numbers of grandparents occupy stools at the Apple Store Genius Bar, desperate to keep up, others choose to remain offline. How, then, can parents bridge this technology gap […]
Unplug For Successful Family Dinners
By Randi Goodman, LMFT When I was a child, I remember family dinners as a time to be with the family without interruptions. When the phone rang, my mother would scream, “Nobody answer that.” As a mother myself, I find it difficult to hold a conversation with my children without them being attached to their […]