海角大神

滨迟鈥檚 Friday, and time for our parenting news roundup.

First up this week: the television and you. (Or the television and your kid.)

Yup, still a bad idea...
We know, we know, you鈥檝e heard all the dire warnings about 鈥�screen time.鈥� It stunts your child鈥檚 intellectual development, makes her hyper, makes her tired, and generally is a bad idea. Despite the fact that kids are interacting with screens more than ever before.

Well, here鈥檚 yet another news item to keep in mind next time you鈥檙e tempted to shut the toddler in his room with the television babysitter. (And it鈥檚 not that we don鈥檛 understand the temptation, we assure you.) A study this week published in the 鈥�American Journal of Preventive Medicine鈥澛爁inds that not only do children with televisions in their rooms watch more TV, which in turn tends to make them fatter, the screen time logged in a child鈥檚 bedroom seems to actually make kids heavier than television watched in, say, the family 谤辞辞尘.听

In other words, if there are two children with about the same diet and level of physical activity, the one with a television in his room will have more health risks than the one who watches television in other areas of the house.聽

Now, study researchers can鈥檛 say exactly why this is; whether it鈥檚 the television in the bedroom or other factors. But we鈥檙e thinking the take away is pretty clear. No television for Junior behind the bedroom door.聽

Of course, this news comes a bit too late for most families. Studies show that in 70 percent of American households, children aged 8 to 18 already have a TV in their bedrooms.

And while we鈥檙e talking screen time...聽聽聽
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) came out with a report this week showing that hundreds of the most popular children鈥檚 educational and gaming apps still fail to explain to parents what sorts of information is being collected about the youngsters who use them. Nearly 60 percent of the 400 apps the commission surveyed transmit information about the user 鈥� info that can include the user鈥檚 phone number or precise location 鈥撀� back to the developer or to an advertising network, analytics company or other third party, the FTC found. But only 20 percent disclosed their data collection practices.

Somewhat creepy, no?

Meanwhile, 58 percent of the apps contained advertising. (Only 15 percent disclosed that prior to download.) Children鈥檚 advocates say reforms are needed.

She was blow drying her hair?
Because it鈥檚 Friday, I am indulging in a little celeb mommy news here. This past week we got some of the first reports from new mom Megan Fox about what it鈥檚 like to become a parent. (Review: the 'Transformers' actress gave birth to her first child, Noah, with husband Brian Austin Green, in September.)聽

A lot of it is the normal stuff: 滨迟鈥檚 hard to describe how much love you can have for a new little munchkin. 滨迟鈥檚 hard to describe how completely, totally exhausted you are.

And it鈥檚 hard to try to blow dry your hair when you are in the midst of excruciating labor pains.

That鈥檚 right, the one-time Maxim Sexiest Woman Alive says that she wanted to look her best when she went to the hospital.

"I had wet hair, so I was trying to blow dry my hair before I went to the hospital," she told US Magazine. "I didn't want to go to the hospital with wet hair!"

I guess I鈥檒l say I鈥檓 impressed. Or something. (I don鈥檛 blow dry my hair on a good day.)

Happy Friday, everyone.