Heritage Medical Associates Pediatrics and the Internet
General Philosophy about the Internet:

    The Internet is a vast complex of interlinked computer systems that contains unimaginable amounts of information. The Internet is not controlled by one person or entity, or even by one country. Anyone with anything to say, sell, show, or tell can put this information on the Internet for anyone around the world to see, with just the click of a few buttons.
    Most of the information is at least informative, but especially in regards to medical information, there is an abundance of information that has not been peer reviewed or studied appropriately by experts in the field.
    Dr. Klinsky and Dr. Mallard have gone through a tiny portion of the available sites that pertain to children and have tried to pick a few that might be of value to you. Each site will undoubtedly contain what are known as "links" to other sites. This means that once you are at a particular site you will be able to jump to another site quite quickly. The links are usually in another color type on your screen to let you know that it can be used as a link. Once you jump, or link, to another site, you are in a totally different place that is set up, presumably, by another group or entity. This can be good and bad, so be careful. Some sites are set up strictly as commercial ventures and others are not for profit. Always look to see if the person giving advice can be identified, which lends credibility to their opinions.

Responsible Internet Use:

    Many parents these days are interested in controlling the content of what their children receive on the Internet. There are currently four or five companies that make what are known as filters. Some of these are Cyberpatrol, Cybersitter, Surfwatch and NetNanny. These filters usually work by looking for certain words or phrases that are usually in pornographic or adult Internet sites and then blocking these sites from being viewed on your computer. This works great in theory, but in practice has a few pitfalls. First of all, even the best of these filters will miss some of the sites you may want to block. Why they don't block them is a complex answer that is beyond the scope of this discussion. Second of all, they may block sites that you don't want blocked simply because those sites contain the same words you asked it to block.
    The bottom line is this. Diligent youngsters with enough time and energy will be able to defeat any filter program you throw at them. We encourage an open and honest discussion of the material that can be found on the Internet. Discuss your child's' ability to surf the net responsibly and let them know your expectations for their behavior (which should be similar on and off the Internet).

Sites of interest on the Internet:

www.aap.org

This is the official site of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Much of this site is devoted to professionals, but there is a fair amount of family oriented material, too. You can find things here like information on SIDS or the current immunization schedule.

www.cpsc.gov

This is the US Consumer Product Safety Commission web site. It is fairly massive, but with a little navigation, can give you great pertinent information on everything from car seats to bicycle helmets.

www.pbs.org

This site has no advertising, and has somewhat limited content. No audio-visual thrills, but it is the home of Mr. Rogers.

www.sesamestreet.com

This site has lots of fun activities for kids including printable coloring pages, learning games, stories, etc. It is a large site with lots of links to other sites. There are special areas devoted to things like safety (with corporate sponsors) and a large parent section.

www.babycenter.com

This is a very commercial-type site that is the equivalent of Parents Magazine online. There is a huge amount of information on shopping, as well as medical and social information on pregnancy, parenting, etc. The names of the medical editors are easily found, which lends credibility to the pages.

www.zerotothree.org

This is the National Center for Infants and Toddlers. A very cerebral site devoted to the healthy development of babies and children. It is a national nonprofit organization, and boasts a long list of contributors including Dr. Brazelton.

www.drgreene.com

This is a well-known and popular pediatric site that has become a commercial venture. There is lots of pediatric information presented in a question and answer type format, but as usual with these types of sites, not all pediatricians will agree on a subject, so these sites should always be used as an adjunct to the advice you receive from your own pediatrician. This site does have a vast links section to other sites you might find valuable.

www.disney.com

This very commercial site does offer some educational games for children, and has an extensive parent section.

www.ala.org

This is the site of the Librarians Association. It is a massive site with some areas just for kids, including homework help, a "best kid sites" link, hobbies and games, etc. The links for parents are mostly of the education and resources kind, like how to evaluate schools and teachers, etc.

http://spacelink.nasa.gov/

This site is just what you would expect. You can get up to date information on NASA expeditions that are underway, or other projects that have been completed. You can download awesome stellar photographs or space shuttle launches. A very fun site, that is really quite massive.

www.kidshealth.org

This is a site run by the Nemours group. It has areas for parents and professionals. It is respected and should be able to provide useful information.