Microsoft and its crack ad team have come up with a really bad commercial that touches on the increase in attention deficit disorder and what parents can do to “entertain their children.” I am fairly certain that for most parents (especially parents enrolled at Better Parenting University), entertaining your child with a pretty woman dancing in a lab coat and two guy doing goofy dances and hand moves is not the answer for child friendly entertainment. And if your child does have ADD / ADHD, I am fairly certain, you do not find the commercial particularly amusing.

Of course, maybe that’s the point…these aren’t good forms of entertainment, but the Xbox is a good choice to keep kids entertained? I am not so sure about that either. Certainly video games are one choice for entertainment, but children will ultimate place a much higher value on the time you spend with your child vs. an Xbox.

You can learn more about ADD/ADHD in our live, online parenting seminar:

Think Your Child Has ADD/ADHD? Get The Answers You Need

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In yesterday’s post, we blogged about an online game with potentially very negative consequences for young girls - today, we look at a game that is as definite step in the right direction - literally. From the recent edition of Springwise:

LocoMatrix, which is still in beta, has developed location-based games kids can play outdoors using their GPS-enabled mobile phones. Fruit Farmer, for example, is a game in which one or more players run around a real environment such as a park, football field or beach collecting virtual oranges (visible on their mobile phone screens) while avoiding virtual obstacles and killer wasps. Multiple levels of play are available, and users can even create their own versions using a special program on LocoMatrix’s website. In Treasure Hunt, meanwhile, the player follows a set of pictorial clues to find a series of locations. The game can be configured to display information about the destination locations, while its “warm-ometer” feature shows pictorially whether the player is getting hotter or colder in relation.

Games that get kids off the couch and into the real world to play games is a very positive use of technology and cell phones as well as a great way to get kids active. As of right now, it appears this service may only be available in the UK, but I am sure it won’t be long until we see these types of cell phone based games in the US.

You can see how the games work in this interesting (if not a bit cheesy) video.

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Parents beware - there is a site that is increasing in popularity that is encouraging girls as young as 9 to embrace plastic surgery and extreme dieting in the search for the perfect figure. The game already has over 200.000 registered members in the U.S, and 1.2 million subscribers on a French version of the site, with its members being mostly girls aged from 9 to 16.The Miss Bimbo internet game allows girls to create virtual characters and purchase breast enlargement surgery and to keep them “waif thin” with diet pills.

Here is how the site tries to entice young girls into the game:

Welcome to Miss Bimbo. Enter the exciting world of the first ever, virtual fashion game !

Become the most famous, beautiful, sought after bimbo across the globe!

• Find your own cool place to live.
• Find a fun job to pay for your needs and all the clothes a Bimbo could possibly want.
• Shop for the latest fashions and become the trendsetting bimbo in town !
• Become a socialite and skyrocket to the top of fame and popularity.
• Date that famous hottie you’ve had your eye on and show the Bimbo world the social starlet you are !
• Even resort to meds or plastic surgery. Stop at nothing to become the reigning bimbo !
• Tackle your 104 tasks as quick as possible to become the rising star bimbo !!

Are you ready to become the hottest of hot Bimbos !?!

In today’s world, where Paris Hilton attracts raving fans for her “bimbo like” behavior,” it is not surprising an entrepreneur decided to go after this market. And for some young girls who understand that this is just a game and can see the irony at play here, participating in this game may be OK. However, for many girls, they are in a very impressionable stage of their life. If they see the characters they have created as a way to feel accepted in the virtual world, and to be more successful in this virtual world, you use meds and plastic surgery to succeed, the leap from virtual reality to reality is often not that far off for many young people today.

Parents beware. This is not a site that is going to benefit your daughter in any positive manner. Even if your child can see it as a joke or a game, there are much more entertaining ways to spend their time. We have added this site to the do not visit list at Better Parenting University - we hope you consider doing the same at your home.

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Discover more in our online parenting seminars:

I Like Me: Building Self-Esteem In Your Child
Kids And The Internet: How You Can Keep Your Child Safe
Cranked Mirror: Understanding, Addressing, and Getting Treatment For Your Child´s Eating Disorder

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According to an article appearing on the Telegraph.co.uk:

The demise of the traditional family is breeding a generation of children who are increasingly relying on teachers to become surrogate parents, a prominent education leader warned yesterday.

Thousands of children lacked basic social skills, said John Dunford, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders.
Many pupils were unable to hold simple conversations, use a knife and fork or sit at the table, he added. Others suffered serious behavioural problems because of the lack of a stable home life.

For too many young people, school was the “only solid bedrock in their lives” where they experienced clear moral boundaries.

This is a sad fact of today’s high pressure family lives, where parents are often working long hours and multiple jobs to financially support the family while also sacrificing the basic foundation that builds strong, healthy families.

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