Remember the good old days when your parents would let your 7-year old self walk to school unaccompanied or run down the street by yourself to the neighbor's house to play Hot Lava Monster? (Or were those the fruits of what would today constitute as negligent parenting? My how the times change...) Well apparently a lot of kids these days won't, especially if they live in traffic-heavy neighborhoods because their folks are schlepping them around in the minivan for their play dates. Consequently, studies show that those kids are having trouble connecting with other people and their community. But don't worry -- your (sheltered) kids are making tons of long-lasting relationships with their virtual XBOX friends. They'll be totally fine. [SW]
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