Does a day off really mean a day off for you? No info snacking and constant email checking on your Blackberry. No surfing the web for work-related nuggets. Screen time of only the most leisurely kind.

I was invited to speak about kids and technology at our elementary school PTO meeting the other night -- a stark change from the usual law enforcement officer who scares the heck out of us parents with stories of pedophiles and predators lurking behind cyber walls to approach our kids.

Every year, it seems there are more toddler tech toys luring parents with bright-colored buttons, TV-screen connections, and promises that a techy toddler is an educated, engaged toddler.

Here's some reassurance that most kids are more guarded than we give them credit for online. A study published in the Journal of Adolescence finds that posting personal information is not as rampant as we've been led to believe in the early days of social networks.

Our main computer sits in our combination home office/mudroom. Yep, you get the picture, and it's often messy. But the biggest thing that bothers me is all the wires I see beneath the desk when I walk in the door.

Today is the closest we have come to a national primary day. I live in one of those states where the primary actually matters after years of falling too late in the presidential political season, so keeping up with the results has even more pull than usual.

As a parent, I found the cautionary tale of the protective mom to be one of the most interesting on Frontline's look at teens and social networks.

Homemade Valentines are the best. Combine some glue with a heart-shaped paper doily and red construction paper, and, admit it, you've got a tender moment.

Looking for homework help that stops short of a tutor for your elementary school student? Maybe one who needs some extra help with science and math?