The critical questions are: Is this bad for our children? Is it wrong to provide them the most up-to-date tools for both entertainment and teaching? Is it wrong to want to see our children smile and grin as they watch their favorite videos?

"I gave my kids access to email at relatively young ages. I wanted them to learn while they still listened to me."

Just three years old, tablets, and the iPad in particular, have turned out to be phenomenal tools for the under-six set. At no other time have parents had a sophisticated and user-friendly product that demonstrates kids' innate logic and abilities.

I spoke with Tim Woda looking for his advice on how to keep children safe growing up in the digital age. We also spoke about parent engagement, getting parents to understand that it's okay to monitor their children's online conversations with friends. Our parents did it. We can as well.

Parents need creative solutions. We all know that the best defense is a good offense, so as a parent I try to constantly stay abreast of what the "cool" social media sites are, and where my daughter is engaging.

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.

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.

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

Although teachers see a number of advantages in young people's heavy use of digital media (especially in their ability to find information quickly and efficiently), it is the potentially harmful effects that have families, educators and policy makers worried.

Should you worry about social media? Do video games affect focus? Are screens really harmful? It can be difficult to sort through all the information ...

Even a "chill" mother like myself has heard the following leave my lips: "Why aren't you texting me back? Why did I buy you the latest phone if you were not going to answer it? Why did you change your status to 'in a relationship' with Susie Sassler? Honey, are you gay? You can tell me anything."

When my children were old enough to have screen names, I ran a benevolent dictatorship. This meant that I was not always right, but I was never wrong.

I also saw significant parallels between children's development and the development of software.

That is where technology comes to the rescue for kids. In the middle of that frustration, they are prone to turn to a smart phone app, to start texting with a friend, or to take a break and play a video game. This multitasking is a killer for complex learning.