St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church

From the mailbag - advice on children and video games from Dr. Charles Fay

Over the past two decades, video and computer games have become dramatically more fast-paced, realistic, and stimulating. Not long after their introduction, I began to suspect that these games had the same addictive potential as drugs, alcohol, and gambling. Today, family therapists and researchers have confirmed my fears. Listed below are some tips for helping your child avoid getting hooked:

* Don't allow your child to have a computer in their room.

The Week reports how many businesses are giving up emails once a week. Face to face tends to resolve conflicts and even mitigates the misinterpretations that happen over email.

On one hand email is fast - and effective especially for short answers. It's not great for writing long letters. I sometimes think emails can be anticlimactic, compared to handwritten notes. Checking my email has sometimes felt like an obsession.

Do you ever worry that your kids might grow up and spend most of their time making excuses about why they are too busy to visit or to help you when you're the most in need?

Fortunately, there's a powerful strategy that kills two birds with one stone. It creates kids who're more likely to help you when you are old…and it also creates kids who're more likely to do their chores before you get old.