The answers to his questions lead us to books or museums or get us cooking or building or exploring the backyard or the beach. The screens make the world bigger and yet fully within reach, and infinitely full of possibilities.

Just in time for Screen-Free Week, The Claussen family got a crash course in living life unplugged, courtesy of talk show host and comedian Steve Harv...

I want my kids to be able to use all of the amazing high-tech tools available to them. But I also want them to realize that there are other tools and other ways to communicate. I want them to know that their options are not limited to what's on the scroll down menu in an application.

There are several reasons why I like it so much. First, it's short and sweet, so that's always nice. But more than that, it's pure and simple while still being profound and deep. And that's hard to do.

Times have changed. New technology offers children independence from their parents' involvement in their social lives, with the use of mobile phones, instant messaging, and social networking sites.

We've all seen the YouTube videos of babies masterfully using technology and moments when they swipe magazines like iPads. This topic of toddlers and technology invariably brings on a robust debate -- with experts positing if, when and how children should be exposed to technology.

Just take a look around. Screens are everywhere. People are incapable of merely sitting with their thoughts in a waiting room. Have we become so uncomfortable with ourselves?

We need to use technology as a medium for learning. Otherwise, kids will be bored and less engaged in the learning process.

We have entered a new era of relationships in which the rules and practices that have guided the development, maintenance and termination of relationships for eons are being rewritten.

Instead of putting in the mental exertion or time commitment to try and solve a puzzle -- and develop their critical thinking at the same time -- a kid's first recourse is to beg Dad to go online for a cheat code.

My son wants every second he can squeeze out of my iPhone, and we're constantly wrestling with the when and how of device time. So, when I found a way for us to blend outdoor time and exercise with the allure of the iPhone, I knew I'd struck gold.

Seeing them playing games and using silly apps bothers me, but if I know they're on their devices connecting with friends, I'm sort of OK with it. I like the idea of them being social on screens. Did I just say that? Is that social? It is today.

The debate continues to rage on as to the true role technology is playing in young children's lives, with informed "experts" on both sides claiming the superior stand. Maybe it's the easy way out, but how about everything in moderation, especially for younger children?

Needless to say, you can imagine the shock when our 6-year-old asked for an iPod Touch for Christmas. Who the hell did he think he was? Alex P. Keaton?

Technological development is shaping the way we think. The uncertain reality is that we have neither the benefit of historical hindsight nor the time to ponder or examine the value and cost of these advancements in terms of how it influences our children's ability to think.

This week's Family Dinner Table Talk, from HuffPost and The Family Dinner book: Not so long ago, we lived in a world of very few screens. Yes, home...

Figuring out how to appropriately negotiate screen time has been an issue in my house ever since the kids have been old enough to operate the computer.

Bedtime isn't the only time when parents feel like they're playing Whack-A-Mole. In this new short film, "Glued," produced by four animation stude...

The next time you hear that Bing! when you're behind the wheel, think about the behavior you're modeling for your kids before you reach for your phone. Live like your kids are watching. Because they are.

Our study found that if a student checked Facebook just once during the 15-minute study period, he or she had a lower GPA.

It doesn't take any work to be a mom or dad; you're just given that title when you have a kid. But when you become a parent, you take on the responsibility to guide, mentor, train and provide ways for your child to become all he or she was created to be.