Ante Up
Thanks largely to easy access on the Internet, youth are gambling in record numbers. According to the latest National Annenberg Survey of Youth, about 16 percent of college-age males visit gaming sites every month—a nearly four-fold increase from 2008. Sometimes, the habit begins in high school: About 6.2 percent of boys in high school visit gaming sites, up from 2.7 percent in 2008. Those stats are plenty worrisome for gaming experts, considering it’s illegal for most high schoolers to gamble at all. “The dramatic increase in use of online gambling…indicates that payment restrictions on such sites are no longer a barrier to young people,” says Dan Romer, director of the Annenberg Adolescent Communication Institute. Females don’t gamble nearly as much, either in high school or college, but that’s beginning to change, too. Nearly 30 percent of high school girls have been involved in some form of gaming—an increase of nearly 10 percent in just two years. (Annenberg Public Policy Center)

Screaming for Screens
Pediatricians believe the time that children spend in front of TV and computer screens should be limited and argue further that children under the age of 2 should be kept away from screens entirely. With the rise of smart phones and iPads, along with a bevy of educational software for such devices, tech experts and parents wonder whether these pediatricians are being too strict. Touchscreens are tailor-made for young learners, screen proponents say; and the iPad has lots of applications suitable for the youngest of users, from popping Bubble Wrap® to finger painting. “Would you take finger painting away from children?” says Warren Buckleitner, editor of Children’s Technology Review. “Well, only when it’s getting paint over the living room rug. You can hand your child this very powerful experience.” Pediatricians are dubious. “There are now a half a dozen studies showing that babies exposed to screens may suffer from language delays,” says Dr. Vic Strasburger. “There never has been a study showing that it does any good.” (ABC News)

Eminem Bullied as Boy
We all know that bullying is a pressing issue today and that anyone can fall victim to a bully, but only recently was it confirmed that no less than popular rapper Eminem was bullied as a child. Eminem, then known as Marshall Mathers, was bullied beginning in 1981, according to court documents when Mathers was 9 years old. The bully, identified as DeAngelo Bailey, beat up Mathers that fall, splitting his lip. The beatings continued for several months, and one attack—the bully allegedly hit Mathers with a snowball packed with ice or rock—gave the future rapper a concussion. All of this was detailed in court papers filed by mother Debbie Mathers when she sued the school for failing to protect her son. The suit, in which Debbie was asking for $10,000 in damages, eventually was dismissed. Mathers later gave Bailey a bit of unwanted immortality by rapping about him in the song “Brain Damage.” Bailey actually sued Eminem for invasion of privacy, but the lawsuit was thrown out. (New York Daily News)

Youth Best Sellers, 2010
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner (Stephenie Meyer)
Wimpy Kid Movie Diary (Jeff Kinney)
The Sea of Monsters (Rick Riordan)
Battle of the Labyrinth (Rick Riordan)
The Lightning Thief (Rick Riordan)
Mockingjay (Suzanne Collins)
The Last Olympian (Rick Riordan)
The Titan’s Curse (Rick Riordan)
Kane Chronicles: The Red Pyramid (Rick Riordan)
Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book (Jeff Kinney)
Source: New York Times