Limit the amount of time your child spends in front of screen with the help of these tips! Credit: Getty Images

Between the computer, the TV, the DS, and the Wii, a lot of screens are vying for your kids' attention. Parents try lots of different things to limit screen time -- everything from outright bans to "only on weekends" to setting a timer. Being The Enforcer of Screen Time Limits may solve your "right now" goal of getting kids to turn off. But raising kids with an understanding of healthy screen limits and the ability to self-regulate takes a little more work.

Like everything in parenting, media management is a process -- one that requires balancing your long-range goals with the daily reality of the various devices in your kids' lives. Here's an age-by-age media-management plan with some practical tips to try along the way.

Preschool age. Creating consistent, healthy media habits starting when kids are just beginning to be exposed to screens is essential. The American Academy of Pediatrics advises no more than 1 to 2 hours per day of total screen time for children older than 2 (and zero screen time for children under 2). Use that as a maximum amount and work down from there to find the amount that feels appropriate in your family, factoring in all the things required for healthy preschool brain, body, and social development.

• Provide distractions. Diversions work well for this age group -- and preschoolers love to help out. At dinner time, instead of busying them with the TV while you cook, ask them to sort all your pots and pans from biggest to smallest.

• Practice togetherness. What kids this age need is a close, loving relationship with an active, involved caregiver. It's actually OK to do nothing but count dust bunnies, as long as you're together.

• Do activities. Find a book of rainy-day activities that use household objects for easy little projects you can set up (and clean up!) easily.

Elementary and Middle school. At this age, friends take on a much more significant role in kids' lives. Kids also begin to develop their own interests -- some of which they might want to research on the computer. Explaining the reasons why you're choosing to limit screen time will help your kid begin to understand the consequences of their choices. Help them understand that spending excessive amounts of time in front of a screen impacts their ability to develop a rich and full life -- and takes precious, non-retrievable time away from all the things they need to do (like eat, sleep, do homework, read, and play sports).

• Delegate chores. Working parents can feel guilty asking kids to do chores, but it's actually really good for them -- and it helps you, too. Just remember to keep them manageable.

• Schedule play dates. If kids are going to use the computer or game console, invite a friend (or two) and make it social. That removes the isolating aspect of gaming, which can lead to game addiction, loss of empathy, and social withdrawal.

• Grant privileges. Use screen time as a goal that kids have to work for.

• Encourage creativity. If kids start exploring digital arts, encourage some of the off-line aspects, like drawing, sketching scenes, writing, costume design, etc.

High school. Teenagers still haven't developed the judgment to always make great decisions, but they're smart enough to understand the influences of risky practices. For high schoolers, you'll have more success if you explain the reasons why too much screen time is harmful. For example, too much exposure to violent video games raises aggression and lowers empathy. Your kids may actually be able to see evidence of this in their peers who spend too much time playing games.

• Don't give up. Continue to require household participation like chores, and maybe up the ante by asking teens to make dinner once a week and do their own laundry.

• Make quality choices. You still have a say in what they see, hear, and play. Put in your two cents about the importance of quality media.

• Keep up grades. Pull back on screen time if grades are slipping.

Every family will have different amounts of time that they think is "enough." What's important is giving it some thought, creating age-appropriate limits (with built-in flexibility for special circumstances), making media choices you're comfortable with, and modeling responsible screen limits for your kids.

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ScuttlePad (2010): Social network with training wheels is safe, but limited. Ages 7+

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Togetherville (2010): Kids' social site connects to parents' Facebook friends. Ages 7+

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My Secret Circle (2009): Invitation-only social network limited to real-life friends. Ages 8+

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Yoursphere (2009): Kid-only social network promises to block dangerous adults. Ages 9+

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GiantHello (2010): Facebook-lite gets a lot right, but watch out for games. Ages 10+

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Sweety High (2010): Fun, closed social network for girls is strong on privacy. Ages 11+

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Imbee (2011): Safer social networking if parents stay involved. Ages 12+

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Glogster (2009): Creative social site tainted by some bad apples. Ages 13+

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Posterous (2009): Privacy settings and ease of use make blogging site a hit. Ages 13+

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YourCause (2009): An easy, fun, socially networked way to fundraise. Ages 13+

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Facebook face recognition now makes tagging your friends on Facebook easier - even the really inappropriate photos. Credit: AFP/Getty Images

No doubt about it, sharing pictures on Facebook is a major pastime for teens. And if they're careful with what they post and use privacy settings (a big if!), enjoying friends' pics is part of the fun of social networking. But Facebook's new face-recognition software can now automatically recognize people in photos -- and add their name to the picture -- dramatically increasing the number of places that your teen's photos can pop up.

How it Works

Called Tag Suggestions, the program digitally scans the faces in photos and suggests who they are so that you can tag them. The company claims that this feature makes it a lot easier for users to label and share photos. But it also makes it a lot easier for teens' online identity to get away from them.

[[See Protecting Personal Privacy Online for tips on setting privacy controls.]]

Let's say your teen daughter went to a party at a friend's last night. Everyone was taking photos and uploading them to their Facebook pages. When your teen goes to Facebook, she discovers that her exploits are broadcast for all of her friends to see. There are even some misidentified pics of particularly wild behavior that are tagged with her name but are really of someone else.

What happened? When the photos were uploaded, Facebook's Tag Suggestions automatically compared the faces in the photos to other Facebook photos they were tagged in. And while Facebook does notify users when they're tagged -- after the fact -- you still have to go in and un-tag yourself if you don't want to be identified.

[[See Photos Gone Wild for 5 tips on combatting unwanted photos.]]

Privacy Concerns

By allowing automatic tagging, Tag Suggestions erodes the measure of control that users had by looking at each photo and determining who to tag. What if you know -- but Facebook doesn't -- that one friend asked you never to tag them. Facial recognition and automatic tagging makes it a lot easier for you to forget that promise. And while there are a few privacy measures -- you can only be tagged by friends, you're notified when you're tagged, and suggestions are based only on photos you've been previously tagged in -- the setting is on by default. If you don't want your name cropping up all over your friends' pages, you have to turn the feature off.

Lots of things benefit from automatation -- dishwashing, for example. But on the Internet, where broadcasting people's images without their consent can have very public consequences, it seems fair that auto-tagging should be an opt-in feature.

Your teen can disable Tag Suggestions using the instructions below. You can also go a step further and bar Facebook from using your image to compare photos altogether by sending a note to the company.

How to Disable Tag Suggestions

From your Facebook page, click on Account.

Choose Privacy Settings.

Click on Customize Settings.

Scroll down to Things Others Share.

Next to Suggest photos of me to friends, click on Edit Settings.

Click on Disabled and click Okay.

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Long car rides can make children antsy - ease their pain with these apps! Credit: Getty Images

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The folks at Nintendo are promoting games that stimulate the mind and improve children's IQs. Credit: Getty Images

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Minority kids ages 8 and older spend an average of 13 hours a day watching TV, listening to music, using the computer and playing video games. Credit: Getty Images

• TV: Black kids spend an average of five hours and 54 minutes a day watching TV. Hispanics spend five hours and 21 minutes. Asians spent four hours and 41 minutes. Whites spend three hours and 36 minutes.
• Mobile Devices: Asians spend three hours seven minutes per day on mobile devices. Hispanics spend two hours and 53 minutes. Blacks spend two hours and 52 minutes. Whites spend an hour and 20 minutes.
• Computers: Asians spend two hours and 53 minutes a day using computers for recreation. Hispanics spend one hour and 49 minutes. Blacks spend one hour and 24 minutes. Whites spend one hour and 17 minutes.
• Use of Entertainment Media "Most of the Time" While Doing Homework: Blacks and Hispanics use entertainment media 35 percent of the time while doing homework. Asians use it 30 percent of the time. Whites use it 28 percent of the time.
• Reading: Kids in all racial and ethnic groups spent 30 to 40 minutes a day reading for pleasure.

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Students in California can face expulsion for sexting. Credit: Getty Images

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A woman found two missing boys because of facebook post. Cerdit: Getty Images

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Under the proposed legislation, retailers would be asked not to sell salacious so-called "lad's mags" in brown sleeves. Credit: Getty Images

The sexualization of children in Great Britain must stop!

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Rihanna Credit: (C) John P Iblis/jpistudios.com

There are two ways to look at a man being gunned down: as a disturbing act of violence, or, as "empowering."

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A teenage girl in Germany who forgot to mark her birthday invitation as private on Facebook fled her own party when more than 1,500 guests showed up. Credit: AP

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How much personal information are you really sharing? Credit: Getty

Little Ways You're Leaking Privacy

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Do you know where your children are? Foursquare does! Credit: AP

• Location apps let kids post their actual, physical location.
• According to a 2010 study by McAfee Inc., 69 percent of kids ages 13 to 17 have included their physical location in their social networking status update.
• Safety and privacy are the major areas of concern.
• Marketers use these programs to send highly targeted ads.
• If you're going to use them, set privacy controls to the strictest settings.

And that's what makes location sharing a no-go for kids and teens. These programs bring up two big issues: safety and privacy. Since they let you post your location, they can expose your kid's whereabouts to anyone they "friend" -- or, in some cases, to any other user of the program. Also, advertisers are already using social mapping to target users with ads and incentives to visit their businesses (most of which are bars and restaurants).

Foursquare was one of the first entries into the location-sharing game. Here's how it works: When you sign up, you import contacts from other programs like Facebook, Twitter and Gmail. Using Foursquare's mobile website or its smartphone app, you "check in" -- send a message saying where you are and what you're doing -- and the program alerts your friends to tell them where they can find you. (Foursquare does allows you to hide your location, so you can check in without revealing it.) Foursquare uses a gaming motif, which makes it especially appealing for kids.

Facebook Places is available on iPhones or accessible through the company's touch.facebook.com site. It gives you the option of sharing your location with your Facebook friends and checking specific locations to see if your friends are there. For users younger than 17, Places is an "opt in" feature, meaning you have to enable it to use it. But make sure you check your kid's privacy settings anyway.

Gowalla works very much the same way as Foursquare, with a gaming aspect that rewards people for visiting certain places and doing interesting things. Unlike Foursquare's more finely customizable privacy settings, Gowalla's privacy settings are either on or off -- allowing people to view you or not. But Gowalla retains certain features that are publicly available even if you've checked "off." For example, if you recommend something, your recommendation appears under your user name.

Another popular program in this category is Loopt, which is currently only available as a downloadable app with phones using GPS. It's also geared more for singles looking for relationships -- the personal profile asks you to check boxes indicating your relationship status and what type of relationship you're looking for.

Like Facebook, Loopt gives its users the ability to send messages to friends, and while its ability to connect people face-to-face is highly targeted, it does offer fairly customizable privacy settings, including the ability to hide your location and block people.

What Parents Need to Know

1. These programs aren't for your kids. Ignore the "ratings" you may see online. The apps must be downloaded, and even though they're free, you'll get a receipt for it, so you'll know whether it's been installed. Either way, check your child's phone for these apps. You need to know what they're doing.

2. If you think it's OK for your kid to use one of these apps, then you must make sure that their privacy settings are set to the strictest options (as in, designated "friends only). That said, there are no guarantees that your child will be 100% protected from strangers or unwanted advertisers.

3. Since the programs allow users to post directly to Facebook or Twitter from any location, questions of safety and responsible behavior must be addressed. You don't want someone telling everyone about a party at someone else's house.

4. Finally, don't our kids have enough ads in their lives? These programs have the ability to send highly targeted ads -- to your kids' favorite store at the mall, for example. Constant advertising has a tendency to give people the "gimmes." Reinforce the fact that they can use the word "no."

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• Guard your privacy. What people know about you is up to you.
• Protect your reputation. Self-reflect before you self-reveal. What's funny or edgy today could cost you tomorrow.
• Nothing is private online. Anything you say or do can be copied, pasted, and sent to gazillions of people without your permission.
• Assume everyone is watching. There's a huge, vast audience out there. If someone is your friend's friend, they can see everything.
• Apply the Golden Rule. If you don't want it done to you, don't do it to someone else.
• Watch the clock. A virtual hug never matches a real one. Balance your life.
• Choose wisely. Not all content is appropriate. You know what we mean.
• Don't hide. Using anonymity to cloak your actions doesn't turn you into a trustworthy, responsible human being.
• Think about what you see. Just because it's online doesn't make it true.
• Be smart, be safe. Not everyone is who they say they are. But you know that.

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Even if kids think what they post is private, nothing is guaranteed. Credit: Getty Images

• Twenty-seven percent of all 9- to 17-year-olds are practiced online producers, maintaining blogs, pages or other online spaces at least three times a week (Grunwald Associates, 2007).
• Most computers now come with basic photo editing software built in.
• Anyone older than 13 can post a YouTube video.
• Social networks such as MySpace have become showcases for teen-created music, videos and photos.
• Some fan fiction sites give kids a forum to write their own stories about their favorite books or movies.

• Pick age-appropriate tools. There are great programs for elementary kids to draw, make birthday cards, create digibooks and more. For older kids, check that their new technology isn't too complicated or advanced for them. For example, a middle-school student might not make good choices when it comes to using the webcam on her new computer.
• Assess the level of technical difficulty before your kids dive in. If they aren't ready for it, trying to do something will frustrate them -- and you.
• Know how programs work. You don't have to know how to make a video or create a music mash-up, but you do have to know enough to have the talk with your children about using programs responsibly. Not sure where to begin? Ask your kids how they use the tools or programs they love.
• Using someone else's work without approval is a huge no-no. It's called plagiarism or piracy or copyright violation. Any way you look at it, the idea is for kids to create something, not rip off something else.
• Talk about what's appropriate. You've given them the tools, now teach kids how to use them responsibly.
• Once something is posted, anyone can see it, share it, re-use it and/or comment on it. So, it should be something that your kids are willing to have anyone at the dinner table see.
• Don't let money -- or the lack of it -- stand in your child's way. Encourage collaboration with other kids and community programs.
• Most importantly, encourage and motivate your child. The creative avenues are there, the positive possibilities are endless. How you guide your child through all the choices can make all the difference. Steer kids toward sites and activities that fit their interests -- and your values as a family.

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Middle schoolers lead digital lives, so why not make sure they do it safely? Credit: Getty Images

• Most teens are online: 91 percent have an email address; 60 percent have an instant-message screen name; and 72 percent have profiles on social networking sites (Harris Interactive, 2009).
• Seventy-seven percent of 8- to 15-year-olds said they'd rather give up TV than give up the Internet (Pangea Media and YPulse, 2009).
• Twenty-seven percent of all 9- to 17-year-olds work on blogs or other online spaces at least three times a week (Grunwald Associates, 2008).
• One in five kids ages 8 to 17 say they do things online that their parents would not approve of (Norton Online Living Report, 2007).

• Never share names, schools, ages, phone numbers or addresses.
• Never open an email from a stranger -- it may contain viruses that can harm a computer.
• Never send pictures to strangers or view pictures that strangers send to them.
• Keep passwords private (except to parents).
• Tell a trusted adult if something mean or creepy happens on the Internet.

• Visit age-appropriate sites. Find sites that promote learning and creativity and that deepen your kids' interests. Also check out popular websites before your kids visit them. Despite what your kids might tell you, social networks such as MySpace or Facebook are not meant for middle-schoolers.
• Minimize chatting with strangers. Tell your kids people aren't always who they say they are on the Internet. Anyone can pose as a "buddy of a buddy." If kids are playing online games with people they don't personally know, they should be careful not to disclose anything personal.
• Help kids think critically about what they find online. Young people need to know not everything they see is true. You may wish to use safe-search settings or filtering software for younger kids. And you can always check browser histories to see where your kids have been.
• If they wouldn't do it in real life, they shouldn't do it online. Remind them: Don't say mean things, and don't cheat in games or at school.
• Have some rules about time and place. Set limits on the amount of time your kids spend online. Don't let them Instant Message (IM) while doing homework. Restrict time and sites for online gaming.
• Agree on downloads. What music is OK? Which video sites? Don't just hand out your credit card information to your kids. If they need to buy something, you should be involved.
• Talk about privacy. Remind your kids that when they post something online, they lose control of it. It can be cut and pasted and sent around the Web. Show kids where privacy settings are on their favorite sites and help them think about the settings they should use.
• Make sure kids feel safe reporting bad behavior. It doesn't have to be you, but if anything suspicious, mean or scary happens, they need to know they won't get in trouble if they tell a trusted adult.
• Be involved and view your own habits carefully. Parents are their role models for safe and smart use. Enjoy the good stuff together!

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Kung Fu Panda 2. Credit: Disney

With so many sequels, comic book-hero adventures and big-budget action and animated flicks hitting multiplexes near you this summer, we've provided a month-by-month cheat sheet to help you with your movie-going choices.

May

"Thor"
Release Date: May 6
Target Age: Tweens and Teens
What's the Buzz: Even in the pantheon of superheroes, Thor is unique because he's an actual god. Starring Chris Hemsworth and Academy Award winner Natalie Portman, this is one action adventure that's sure to appeal equally to boys and girls, not to mention grown-ups curious about director Kenneth Branagh delving into the genre.

"Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides"
Release Date: May 20
Target Age: Tweens and Teens
What's the Buzz: Yo, ho -- Johnny Depp returns for the fourth time as Captain Jack Sparrow in Disney's popular pirate franchise. Gone are Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley, but Penelope Cruz and Ian McShane are on board for this high-seas adventure that looks equal parts rummy comedy and special-effects-heavy action.

"Kung Fu Panda 2"
Release Date: May 26
Target Age: Young Kids
What's the Buzz: Just in time for Memorial Day weekend, Po (voiced by Jack Black) is back for some more kung fu fighting. The Furious Five are all reprising their roles, as well, and now there's a group of fellow martial arts masters who team up with Po and pals to defeat a common enemy. Even kids who aren't familiar with the original will want to kick and chop their way to this adventure.

"Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer"
Release Date: June 10
Target Age: Young Kids
What's the Buzz: Like Ramona Quimby, Judy Moody is a favorite literary heroine of young readers everywhere. Judy, her brother Stink and their carefree Aunt Opal are going to have a thrills-filled summer on the big screen, and we can assure you that the kindergarten-to-third-grade set will be ready to go on a virtual adventure with them.

"Super 8"
Release Date: June 10
Target Age: Teens
What's the Buzz: A collaboration between writer-director J.J. Abrams ("Star Trek," "Lost") and producer Steven Spielberg, this sci-fi thriller/coming-of-age story set in 1979 Ohio is one of the most highly anticipated movies of the summer. Starring a young cast led by Elle Fanning and Joel Courtney -- who play wannabe filmmakers using the titular Super 8 camera -- this could be the movie of the season.

"Green Lantern"
Release Date: June 17
Target Age: Tweens and Teens
What's the Buzz: Unlike Thor, the Green Lantern wasn't born with super powers -- he acquires them like Spider-Man or The Hulk. The ever-popular Ryan Reynolds stars as DC Comics hero Hal Jordan, a test pilot who's given a ring of nearly unlimited power that lets him create whatever he imagines. Expect tweens and up -- especially comics fans -- to want to check it out.

"Mr. Popper's Penguins"
Release Date: June 17
Target Age: Young Kids
What's the Buzz: Comedian Jim Carrey stars as the titular Mr. Popper, a businessman who inherits six penguins that quickly turn his apartment -- and his life -- into their personal wintry playland. If anyone can pull off an adaptation of the classic children's book by Richard and Florence Atwater, it's Carrey. And unlike most animal comedies, these penguins don't speak!

"Cars 2"
Release Date: June 24
Target Age: Young Kids
What's the Buzz: Lightning, Mater and the rest of everyone's favorite Radiator Springs vehicles return for this Pixar sequel that takes the four-wheeled friends to international locales to compete against the world's fastest race cars. Despite the five-year gap between the original and the sequel, families will be driving in the fast lane to see another Pixar release.

"Transformers: Dark of the Moon"
Release Date: July 1
Target Age: Tweens and Teens
What's the Buzz: Even director Michael Bay has admitted "Transformers 2" was sub-par, and he's promised Autobot fans that this "threequel" is more like the original than the critically panned sequel. Megan Fox is no longer Shia LaBeouf's object of affection, but he's got another starlet, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, on hand to help defeat the Decepticons.

"Zookeeper"
Release Date: July 8
Target Age: Young Kids
What's the Buzz: Talking animal movies always draw kids in, and this family comedy about an unsuspecting zookeeper (Kevin James) who discovers his wild charges can speak looks like the kind of silly, slapstick-filled adventure that even younger elementary-schoolers can appreciate.

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2"
Release Date: July 15
Target Age: Tweens and Teens
What's the Buzz: Unless you've literally lived off the grid for the past, say, 14 years, chances are you and your brood have seen or read at least one of the Harry Potter series, so you know this final film will be epic -- and full of action and intense moments. Harry, Ron and Hermione have one last shot to defeat You Know Who, and if you want to witness it on screen, you'll probably need to buy tickets ASAP.

"Winnie the Pooh"
Release Date: July 15
Target Age: Young Kids
What's the Buzz: Honey-loving Winnie and his Hundred Acre Wood friends Tigger, Eeyore, Piglet and the gang return to the big screen for an old-fashioned adventure that should be a perfect pick for families. With a G rating and a built-in fan-base of any kid familiar with the classic A.A. Milne stories, even the youngest viewers will want to see what Pooh and pals are up to.

"Captain America: The First Avenger"
Release Date: July 22
Target Age: Tweens and Teens
What's the Buzz: One of America's most beloved superheroes gets a reboot for a new generation of fans, so this big-budget adaptation should have pretty universal appeal. Although some kids may not be as keen to see a "period" adventure set in the '40s, they may be more enticed since Captain America (and Thor) will be in 2012's "The Avengers."

"Cowboys & Aliens"
Release Date: July 29
Target Age: Tweens and Teens
What's the Buzz: What could be more appealing than this Wild West-meets-sci-fi adventure, starring James Bond (Daniel Craig) and Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford)? This is already one of the most buzzed about releases of the year, and it's just the sort of action-driven popcorn flick that fathers and sons will enjoy.

"The Smurfs"
Release Date: July 29
Target Age: Young Kids
What's the Buzz: For parents of a certain age, The Smurfs were little blue friends who accompanied the Saturday mornings of childhood. The children of those parents are now the target audience for this computer-generated 3-D adventure starring Hank Azaria as Gargamel, comedian Jonathan Winters as the voice of Papa Smurf and pop star Katy Perry as Smurfette.

"Rise of the Planet of the Apes"
Release Date: Aug. 5
Target Age: Teens
What's the Buzz: This violent-looking prequel to the "Planet of the Apes" series isn't going to be uplifting -- we know the apes will get the upper hand even before the first test subject is given that fateful intelligence-boosting pill -- but that won't stop droves of teens from wanting to see James Franco and Tom Felton (aka Draco Malfoy) try to fend them off.

"Conan the Barbarian"
Release Date: Aug. 19
Target Age: Teens
What's the Buzz: The original, R-rated "Conan" launched Arnold Schwarzenegger's career, and this PG-13 adaptation could do the same for Hawaiian actor Jason Momoa. But the trailer's violence and scantily clad women make it more of an older-teen pick.

"Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World"
Release Date: Aug. 19
Target Age: Tweens
What's the Buzz: Director Robert Rodriguez is resurrecting his super-sleuth franchise with Jessica Alba as an undercover spy whose twin tween stepchildren are the new Spy Kids. But fans of the original shouldn't despair: The twins receive gadgets and guidance from older super sleuths Carmen and Juni Cortez and their parents.

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Tony, from "Skins," sleeps with every hot girl in sight. Credit: AP

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Mark Zuckerberg tells the press he just wants to explore opening Facebook up to young kids. Credit: AP

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Elizabeth smart and her father. Credit: Getty Images

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