Finding the right balance for using media in my kids' lives has always been a challenge. For us, the big issue was video games.

In our family, the lure of video games was particularly strong because I'm a kid-tech journalist, and my sons grew up surrounded by hundreds of video games on every system ever created. They "kid-tested" their way through all of the greats, from collecting Pokemon to torching each other on Mario Kart racetracks to rocking out with all versions of Guitar Hero and Rock Band.

They waged war in Age of Empires, won Super Bowls with Madden, and conquered the world in Civilization.

My older son, Ted, was one of the first kid testers for Reader Rabbit, back when this was revolutionary software on the Apple IIe. Watching Ted become mesmerized by that learning experience had a profound effect on me and was the catalyst for me to begin a career reviewing children's software and games.

With so many games available to us, I knew we needed ground rules about using media. My method was to explain that free time should be filled with many things -- including sports, reading, playing music, volunteering, spending time with family and friends --  in addition to computer and video games. What we did was to keep track of the time my sons played video games (the games were, of course, vetted by me beforehand). For every half hour of Mom-approved gaming, my sons had to match it with exercise and/or reading. We kept charts and used timers.  [Get more tips about how to manage gaming in your kids' lives.]

I was willing to bend our rules and allow extra time when a new game arrived that was particularly good. Simulations like the SimCity series and The Oregon Trail provided a fertile ground for thinking on many deep levels. I knew that these games were doing a lot of good when talk of city planning and the hazards of traveling by wagon train would come up over dinner.

When it came time to pack for college, I asked each son whether he wanted to take a console system to school. And then I held my breath. Each hugged me and thanked me for my kind offer but declined. I let out my breath and beamed as my younger son Peter noted: "If I have free time, Mom, I want to talk to my friends." By choosing to leave gaming consoles at home so that they could focus on deeper socialization with their new peers, my sons gave me one of the greatest gifts -- affirmation that we got the media balance right.