孩子整天坐在電腦前，已成為很普遍的現象。很多家長都擔心孩子用電腦的時間太長，不但令眼睛過度疲倦，還會令孩子缺乏其他活動，缺乏與家人面對面的溝通。
      最近有外國研究發現，原來孩子用電腦還有一種新問題，就是賭博。
      加拿大McGill大學International Centre for Youth Gambling Problems and High-Risk Behaviors(青少年賭博問題與高危行為國際中心)的總監Jeffrey Derevensky說，網上賭博(online gambling)正高速增長，而新客戶中大多是青少年。其中最流行的是網上撲克遊戲(online poker)。

      無傷大雅”的謬誤
      While some may see little harm in allowing kids to engage in such play in an already gaming-crazed culture, Derevensky said it can pave the way to potentially more problematic and costly habits.
      由於這些遊戲很多都不用真錢，所以有些家長覺得讓孩子玩無傷大雅。但這種想法是錯誤的。
      "You're playing for points or you're playing for fictitious(假的) money and you're winning thousands of       thousands of dollars, the natural inclination(傾向) is for us to say, 'Gee, imagine had I only been playing for real money,'" he said. 
      有些家長就發現，情況並非如想像中的無害，因為孩子開始偷錢或盜用父母的信用卡，在網上賭真錢。青少年賭博的情況有多嚴重，看看加拿大安大略省的相關調查便知道：
      A study by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health released in 2010 found that 29,000 middle and high school students in Ontario reported behaviors linked with problem gambling(問題賭博).
Nearly half of the students in Grades 7 to 12 reported participating in at least one form of gambling, while almost three per cent showed signs of a gambling problem. The most commonly reported activities were       betting on card games and buying lottery tickets(買彩票).
      第七至十二班的學生年齡是介乎十二至十六七歲。若在這年紀便開始沉迷賭博，問題不容忽視。
如何走出賭博深淵？
      一位戒賭中心的負責人自己以往也是病態賭徒。他解釋說，沉迷賭博的心態大同小異：
"You think you're going to win more, you're going to go again. And then you start to achieve with the phantom(鬼影般的) idea that you're going to recuperate(收復) your losses which will never, ever, ever happen."
孩子若有賭博的問題，行為上是有信號的，這些包括︰缺課或無交功課、成績驟降、忽然無心向學、說謊、借錢或甚至偷錢、經常想賭博、性情發生變化、情緒波動等，家長可以多加留意。Diane Davis的Taking Back Your Life，教人如何走出賭博的深淵。