Any media rules at home help reduce kids' media consumption by almost 3 hours per week.

Only about three in ten young people say they have rules about how much time they can spend watching TV (28%) or playing video games (30%), and 36% say the same about using the computer.

But when parents do set limits, children spend less time with media: those with any media rules consume nearly 3 hours less media per day than those with no rules.

PositiveTip: Set limits in your family about using media. It works!

Teens spend more than 53 hours per week using entertainment media!

A report from the Kaiser Family Foundation offers some very useful information about media use in the home. They report that today, 8-18 year-olds devote an average of 7 hours and 38 minutes to using entertainment media during a typical day. That is more than 53 hours a week!

PositiveTip: Establish media rules for your home. Your kids will benefit by them!

Health consequences of video games may lead to inactivity, depression, and obesity.

When you think of hard-core video gamers, do you picture teenagers or 35 year old paunchy adults? A very revealing study by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) finds that the average gamer is in their thirties--not a teen. What is more startling is when children and teens become game players, it marks the beginning of a trend toward physical inactivity and related health problems. Gamers were more likely to be overweight, have more poor-mental-health days, and be less socially outgoing than non-gamers. Women gamers reported more depression as well. Almost 12% of the gamers studied showed multiple signs of addiction, too.

PositiveTip: Resist the urge to sit and play a video game! Get up and do some worthwhile physical activity. It will help you be a healthier and more balanced person.