The Center on Media and Child Health (CMCH) at Boston Children’s Hospital (BCH) is an academic research center whose mission is to educate and empower children and those who care for them to create and consume media in ways that optimize children’s health and development. Founded in 2003 by pediatrician, father, and former Hollywood filmmaker Michael Rich, CMCH focuses on media as a powerful environmental health influence, like the air we breathe and the water we drink. We seek to understand the positive and negative health impacts media can have and find ways of making media the most positive possible influence in children’s lives.
Under the umbrella of the larger non-profit of BCH, CMCH’s work is driven by our mission and is largely funded through grants and philanthropy. Our projects fall into three categories:
– Investigating the positive and negative health effects of media on children, through our own research and by compiling research from around the world.
– Translating the research into practical, actionable guidance for parents, caregivers, and other stakeholders, through in-person presentations, publications, blogs, and other forms of outreach.
– Innovating creative ways of using media tools to support and enhance children’s health and development.
Our dedicated staff, along with graduate and undergraduate student interns, trainees, and other associates, hail from a variety of disciplines, such as medicine, psychology, education, library science, and film. Bringing together the strengths of our different fields, we work collaboratively to create resources that support all stakeholders in making media the most positive possible influence on children’s health and development.