Boca Raton Center for Child & Family

09/05/2026

What is screen time teaching your child’s developing brain?

According to research from the Kaiser Family Foundation, children and adolescents ages 8 to 18 were spending nearly eight hours each day with entertainment media.

But the bigger question may not simply be how much time children spend on screens.

It may be what those experiences are teaching the brain to expect.

Rapid videos, gaming rewards, notifications, likes, scrolling, and endless novelty can provide stimulation and feedback almost instantly.

BocaRatonChild.com

09/03/2026

🎬 Screen Check with Dr. Alcalay
This month’s ratings:

🟢 Gabby’s Dollhouse
Encourages imaginative play, creativity, friendship, problem solving, and positive social interaction.

🟡 PAW Patrol
Promotes teamwork and helping others, but the frequent emergencies, fast transitions, and stimulation may make it harder for some younger children to transition away from the screen.

🔴 SpongeBob SquarePants
Especially for younger children, the yelling, sarcasm, impulsive behavior, slapstick violence, and fast scene changes can be highly stimulating.

The goal isn’t to ban everything. It’s to understand how what your child watches may affect mood, behavior, sleep, and imagination.

What show should I review next?

08/31/2026

Helping Kids Beat Screen Time Addiction in the Age of Meta Limits — practical guidance for parents, caregivers, and educators on spotting quieter signs of problematic use and building healthier tech habits. Read the full article: https://wix.to/WmtmtEd

Key takeaways: recognizing subtle signs, setting boundaries without battles, and strategies schools and lawmakers are considering.

https://www.doctoralcalay.com/post/helping-kids-beat-screen-time-addiction-in-the-age-of-meta-limits

A child does not have to throw a tantrum over a phone for screen time to become a problem. Sometimes it looks quieter than that: a child who cannot settle without a device, sneaks extra minutes at night, loses interest in hobbies, or feels anxious when an app is taken away.Recent legal pressure arou...

08/27/2026

🚨 META’S $17 BILLION SETTLEMENT: BUT ARE WE REALLY LIMITING SOCIAL MEDIA FOR KIDS?

But as a child psychologist, I think parents should also pay attention to what the settlement does not do.

Are we actually protecting children from excessive social media use, or are we simply making excessive use slightly easier to manage?


BocaRatonChild.com

08/26/2026

08/19/2026

Back to school brings excitement, new routines, and new opportunities, but it can also bring stress, anxiety, attention challenges, and big emotions for children and families.

At the Boca Raton Center for Child & Family, we help children begin the school year feeling more confident, resilient, and emotionally prepared for success.

Our services include:
🧠 Child and adolescent therapy
📚 Psychological and psychoeducational testing
👨‍👩‍👧 Parent consultation and support

A successful school year is about more than academics. It is also about helping children feel secure, capable, connected, and ready to navigate challenges.
Learn more at bocaratonchild.com

08/17/2026

📺 Dr. Alcalay’s Screen Check: Yellow Light Show 🟡
Cocomelon can be fun, but its fast pace and high stimulation may make transitions tricky for some kids.
💡 If your child struggles when the show ends, that’s an important insight for parents to notice.

🎥 Watch Dr. Edan M. Alcalay, Psy.D explain why mindful viewing matters.

08/14/2026

Healthy or Harmful: Evaluating Children's TV Shows in the Streaming Era 📺📱

Children's television is no longer limited to a few scheduled programs on Saturday morning. Families now have nearly unlimited access through Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, YouTube, and other streaming platforms. 🧸 A child can move from one episode to the next without waiting, and autoplay can quietly turn a short viewing break into a long stretch of screen time. For parents, the question is no longer simply, "How much television is my child watching?" An equally important question is, "What is this show asking my child's developing brain and emotional system to do?" 💡

From a child psychologist's perspective, children's media is best understood through a developmental lens. A program may be labeled "for children" yet still be poorly matched to a particular child's age, temperament, attention span, anxiety level, sensory needs, or ability to separate fantasy from reality. 🌟 Likewise, a show need not be explicitly educational to offer something valuable. Some of the healthiest programs provide emotional language, inspire pretend play, model relationships, and create opportunities for parents and children to connect. 🪁

The goal is not to label every show as simply good or bad. Parents can think in terms of three categories: green light, yellow light, and not yet. 🟢 Bluey is a green-light show for many young children. 🟡 CoComelon may belong in the yellow-light category, depending on the child and how it is used. 🔴 Stranger Things is a clear "not yet" for younger children, regardless of how popular it may be among siblings, friends, or classmates.

Visit our blog to read more: ➡️ www.doctoralcalay.com/post/healthy-or-harmful-evaluating-children-s-tv-shows-in-the-streaming-era