The Internet offers ideal solutions to the above problems. First of all, the Internet is anonymous. Second, it can serve a continually updateable source of information. Third, it can serve as a support community through bulletin boards and chat rooms, again anonymously. Fourth, the Internet offers the opportunity for rich caregiver-patient interaction.
Parents report that kids are more likely to fight over computer time than over use of the phone.
Each site has separate areas for children of different ages and an area for parents. In addition there is a care area for interaction with their health care providers. There is educational content in the form of stories, and there are interactive social games, bulletin boards, and chat rooms. Each site allows children to post their physiological results each day, e.g. whether they were wet or dry the night before or today's weight, in the case of obese kids or teens. The child receives a gold star on a calendar if they are dry the night before, or a smiley face if they are keeping within their weight loss goal.