We wanted to take a moment to congratulate all of the Grand Prize winners of the Xbox 360 Family Sweepstakes: Veronica, Tynishia, Randy and Matthew! Throughout the course of the four-week giveaway, we received numerous entries from parents with a wide array of household media tips and tricks on balancing screen time, choosing the right video games for your family and rules around online gaming and social networking. Here’s some of the great advice we received:

• “Our two kids are not allowed to hear voice chat when playing multiplayer games with strangers and they can only use social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter when we are in the room with them.”
• “Online games are allowed after school lessons are done and only on weekends (along with TV and movies) - social networking site rules are that all safety features of Facebook are utilized.”
• “Parents should play video games, watch TV, and use the Internet with their children. They need to establish cut off hours such as 11 pm on weekdays and 12 am on the weekend.”
• “Use a screen time tracker like the Family Timer which is handily built right into Xbox 360 Family Settings.”
• “To find appropriate games for my family, I check game websites and game ratings for trailers and information on family friendly games.”
• “I rent the games first and play them myself so that I can decide if it’s good or not for the family.”

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Sweepstakes! Remember that GetGameSmart.com has step-by-step parental control set-up guides and tools for helping your family enjoy TV, video games, and the Internet in ways that are safer and more balanced. Follow @GetGameSmart on Twitter or become a fan of GetGameSmart.com on Facebook for updates on the go.
 

As you may know from visiting and exploring our site, GetGameSmart.com was created to help families tackle issues related to online and video game safety –setting up parental controls, having conversations with your children about appropriate media use, and keeping up-to-date on the latest topics such as cyber bullying and even sexting.  But what about the hundreds of thousands of parents out there who don’t go online? Where do they find the information they need to make the right media choices for their families? We decided to meet these parents face-to-face by traveling across the country to five national women’s trade shows in Seattle, Raleigh, Richmond, Nashville, and Novi, to spread the word about parental controls for Xbox 360 and other online safety tools.

At the shows, the GetGameSmart.com booth drew in thousands of women and families as the team walked them through the set-up process for Xbox 360 Family Settings and tools like the Family Timer, handed out resources including the PACT and gave attendees the chance to win an Xbox 360 each day. Not only were the majority of parents surprised at how simple it was to set the parental controls, but they were also excited by the various levels of control they were able to achieve with Xbox 360 Family Settings. The Family Timer proved to be a real crowd pleaser, with many moms exclaiming, “That is such a great idea! I had no idea I could control the amount of time my kids played!” Here are a few more of our favorite quotes from the parents we met:

• “My son is always playing way too much … I am so going to use the PACT!”
• “I love your parental controls and am more comfortable with him playing on the Xbox than anywhere else.”
• “These controls are great! I had no idea you could do all of this.”
• “Control was a worry of mine since I’m about to get an Xbox. Thanks for sharing all this with me!”

Aside from all of the great families we had the opportunity to talk to during our cross-country travels, our team also had a fabulous time exploring each of the cities we visited and hope to hit the road again soon.

Who knows – maybe next time we’ll come to you!
 

Get Game Smart will host the Xbox 360 Family Sweepstakes for four consecutive weeks on Friday, May 28, Friday, June 4, Friday, June 11 and Friday, June 18, where families will have the chance to win an Xbox 360 Family Prize Pack or a $100 Best Buy gift card or spa gift certificate! On each of these giveaway days, you’ll find a new challenge question on the Xbox 360 Family Sweepstakes page around online and video game safety and how your family makes smart media choices in your home. For the chance to win each week, simply enter your answer and email address on the Xbox 360 Family Sweepstakes page – we may even feature your answer in a blog post on GetGameSmart.com!

A winner will be picked at random and will receive an Xbox 360 Family Prize Pack, including: one Xbox 360 Elite console, a one-year Xbox LIVE Gold Membership, and 1600 Xbox LIVE points. You can also find our weekly challenge questions on our Twitter page, @GetGameSmart. Contestants will also have a chance to win a $100 Best Buy gift card or spa gift certificate by following @GetGameSmart and re-tweeting the challenge question from that week. There are four days to win – Friday, May 28, Friday, June 4, Friday, June 11 and Friday, June 18, so don’t miss out!

[No purchase necessary.  Open only to legal residents of the 50 US and D.C. 18+.  Game ends June 18, 2010.  See Official Rules for details.]

Hello!  My name is Alexander Kruse and I’m an Ambassador for Microsoft’s Get Game Smart program, which helps parents and kids work together to create rules around video gaming and other kinds of electronics in your home. As a 15 year old living in today’s technological world, I know the importance of balancing my activities on a daily basis. I understand that it’s tough for parents to know how to limit their child’s use of electronics, but here are a few simple tips my parents and I use that you can keep in mind:

Education Comes Before Play Time
The biggest rule my family and I use is “education comes before play time.” Even though we love to play video games, use the computer, visit friends’ houses and play sports, school should always be a priority because it’s the key to your future success. If I played video games all night after school, I wouldn’t have good grades. In-game achievements are fun – but it’s more important to work hard in real life because those achievements will lead to bigger and better things.

Read the rest of this post on www.RadicalParenting.com

Hey gamers, this is Cody from Renton, Washington. I’ve been involved with the Get Game Smart program as an Ambassador for just under a year now. I wanted to take a moment and share why it’s important to always game safe and prioritize your gaming time.

My favorite game to play on my Xbox 360 is “NCAA Football 2010.” It’s always a new challenge on the virtual field when I play someone from Florida, Texas, or even Alabama. But gaming online can be dangerous and intimidating if you aren’t cautious. Some basic rules to follow when gaming online are:

• Use appropriate language
• Never give someone information about yourself (your name or age, where you live, e-mail accounts, etc.)
• Remember to play fair! Nobody likes playing with a cheater or a hacker. So just play the game right and have fun.

Along with playing video games, it’s important to stay healthy, get good exercise and do your schoolwork. I play varsity baseball, basketball, and football year-round and still have plenty of time to play video games. When I get home from practice, I usually just do my homework right away, to get it out of the way, and then use my extra time to relax and unwind by playing some video games. It’s better to get your work done first instead of waiting to do it later on, because you won’t have to worry about it and you won’t forget to do it.

Just remember to stay active and stay smart, both inside the game and outside of the game.
 
Cody, Get Game Smart Ambassador
 

(Posted February 17, 6:45 p.m.)

One of our Get Game Smart partners, Family Online Safety Institute CEO Stephen Balkam, recently wrote an article for the Huffington Post in which he noted that children and teens should be taught "digital citizenship skills" to help them share information in intelligent ways. Here's an excerpt from the post:

"While there is a recognition that there must be a base-line of safety -- using filters for younger kids and monitoring and privacy settings for the older ones -- the emphasis is now placed on education, media literacy and a new kind of civics. It's time for kids of all ages to understand and value the rights of free speech and assembly (ie, connecting through social networking and other means) as well as an expectation of privacy and safety."

Check out his post!
 

(Posted February 9, 1:07 p.m.)

Keeping pace with all the ways that media in our homes are changing can be a daunting proposition for many parents, especially given the significant impact the Internet has had on our children’s lives.  MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter…the list goes on and on, and the way our children play video games is no exception.  But given the risks inherent to life in the digital age, it’s imperative that parents be aware of some of the potential risks that come along with video games played online, as well as the tools and controls at their disposal to help them mitigate those risks.

Online-Enabled Games
ESRB ratings provide parents with guidance about content and age-appropriateness, but online-enabled elements like communication and the behavior of other players cannot be considered or reflected in a game’s rating. Many online-enabled games allow for content created or introduced by other players (called “user-generated content”), like voice, text and video chat or downloadable weapons, clothing, or other in-game props.
 
All games that allow user-generated content carry a notice that reads "Online Interactions Not Rated by the ESRB,” which warns that the user-generated content may not be in line with the rating assigned.
 
MMOs
Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) games are exactly what they sound like – games in which a large number of gamers play together online. Just like online-enabled games, these can include user-generated content that isn’t part of the rating. They can also be extremely engrossing for players as they oftentimes involve a social component with players assembling and cooperating in teams to compete with others in the game.   
 
Parental Controls
While all the current generation game consoles offer parental controls, they differ from one system to the next in terms of what elements can be controlled and to what degree. Some parental controls allow parents to restrict games by ESRB rating and turn online connectivity on and off, while others can also control when, how and with whom the system can be used to play with others online. Consult this guide for step-by-step instructions on setting up parental controls for your game system.  
 
DLC and Micro-transactions
Downloadable content (DLC) typically refers to content that the game’s developer makes available online to extend or alter its game.  DLC can be as simple as a new outfit for a game character or as elaborate as adding a 10-hour adventure onto an existing game. Also, all of the game consoles (including the Xbox 360) have virtual storefronts or arcades where users can download whole games, game add-ons and promotional materials. DLC can be accessible at no cost, by redeeming earned points, or for a fee.
 
A micro-transaction is an in-game purchase that might provide or unlock something that makes a cosmetic change (like a new hat or pair of shoes for the player’s character), or gives players something they could have attained by playing through the game (like new powers or a new level to play).
 
Parents should keep all of these things in mind if they’ve got children who play games online. Bottom line, there’s no substitute for an involved parent, and that couldn’t be more true when it comes to the video and computer games your children play, especially online.

The Get Game Smart Ambassadors have put their heads together and come up with their top tips for helping parents establish guidelines for safer and more balanced media use at home. From game content, to time limits, to playing games with your kids, these five tips and resources will help you and your children engage in an ongoing dialogue about the do’s and don’ts of the digital world:

1. Get on the same page with your kids about healthy media habits. To get the conversation started, fill out The PACT, a “contract” that helps families establish rules around online access, video game content and overall screen time.

2. Encourage balance with activities that keep your kids active and busy. To keep tabs on how much time they’re spending in front of a TV screen versus how many hours they participate in outside activities or completing their homework, download the screen time tracker and post it on the refrigerator.

3. Set priorities – school work and sports should come before video game play time. Use the Xbox 360 Family Timer to keep your kids focused on school nights by setting console time limits on daily basis. When the time is up, the console turns off – no questions asked!

4. Get involved – play video games with your children to learn about their behavior online. The more you know about your children's interests, the better you can engage in a dialogue around their video game habits, the type of games they like to play and who they talk to online. Try taking the "Do You Know Your Gamer" quiz as a fun way to start the conversation.

5. Set limits –use game ratings to select age-appropriate content. The Entertainment Software Ratings Board, or ESRB, provides information about the content in computer and video games so parents and caregivers can make more informed decision about which games are appropriate for their kids. Click here to learn more about ESRB ratings.

Do you have any additional tips you’d like to share? Comment below and we’ll post some of them on our Twitter page, @GetGameSmart.
 

Hey, one of the Get Game Smart Ambassadors here, with something to think about. I'm going to go ahead and say that there is no cut and dry rule for defining good gaming habits for every family.  Every child is different; every family is different.

I've got a fifteen year-old, Thomas, who loves “NCAA Football 10” and first-person shooters, but also loves to play football, hang out with friends and understands that school work is important to his mother and me and comes before video gaming. Establishing rules with him is fairly easy. He can't play until his school work is done and only if he keeps his grades up.  He accepts that (it only took removing the power supply from the Xbox once or twice when he was younger) and abides by those rules.  He loves to play video games with his friends, but when football season is on, he gets very little time to do so. 

On the other hand, my five year-old will play the Wii or Xbox every chance he gets (he loves “NCAA Football 10” – and, in easy mode, he beats everybody 133 -0. If only that could happen in real life).  So rather than go down the road where it’s a struggle to get him off the console, I've taken the video game that he likes to play and transformed it into a real-life game in the backyard. Now that his favorite game is “NCAA Football 10”, we play two-hand touch, but when his favorite game was “Lego Star Wars”, we spent several months running around with light sabers banging into things in the house. He had a blast, while being active, and it linked back to the enjoyment that he has with games.

What I'm trying to say, is that it's difficult to not give into the urge to plop your kids down in front of the TV so you can have a few hours of necessary alone time (which I admit, we all need in today's world).  It's really easy to let that happen. Using creative ways to make them realize that they need to balance gaming time with the rest of their activities, therefore keeping them active and away from the TV, makes those times in front of the console all the more special.

That's just my take on it, and I play my share of Xbox as well. Do you have any creative ways that you balance video gaming in your home? I’d love to hear your ideas.

Jason, Get Game Smart Ambassador

Gamertag:  GreenEyeBob

If you find yourself arguing with your youngster about video games, you're not alone. The 2007 annual MediaWise-Harris Video Game Report Card Poll® showed that you have lots of company.

Among other findings, the poll showed that almost four out of 10 parents say they argue with their kids about how much time youngsters spend playing games. Disputes about when games should be played and which games are appropriate are common as well.

The biggest bone of contention, however, is the amount of time kids spend playing. It's probably tempting for some parents to let the issue slide and avoid family friction. The showdowns over game time, however, are worth the aggravation. That's why an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Once game play is out of control, the arguments are more frequent and more heated. But, you can take steps to keep video game playing fun and in its proper place.

A Few Tips from Dr. Dave

First, be clear about the rules for when and how much time kids spend playing. Technology can help. The new Microsoft Xbox 360 has a time limit feature that parents can use.

Second, let your kids know ahead of time what the consequences will be if they don't follow the rules. Limiting or eliminating game play for a period of time can be effective.

Third, don't be afraid to put the console or the games in the closet for a while if the battles are constant or if the young player's protests cross over the line into disrespect.

A fourth step we can take as parents is to play the games our kids love so much. After all, we need to know what all the fuss is about.

Video games are fun and exciting, and they can be a very positive part of your child's activity diet. We just have to make sure our kids play age-appropriate games and don't overdo it. Then we can keep our young ones safe and avoid arguments in the future.

David Walsh, Ph.D. is the founder of the MediaWise Movement, a program of the National Institute on Media and the Family (www.mediawise.org). His latest book, No: Why Kids - of All Ages - Need to Hear It and Ways Parents Can Say It is available in bookstores.

Partner: MediaWise

Below, Dr. Sharon Cooper, a pediatrician and guest blogger from NetSmartz Workshop, outlines some tips for keeping your children safe online.

• Clear, simple, easy-to-read house rules should be posted on or near the computer monitor. Create your own online video game and computer rules or complete the Get Game Smart PACT. This agreement can be signed by parents and children and should be periodically reviewed.

• Keep the computer in the family room or another open area of your home.

• If children use chat or e-mail, talk to them about never meeting in-person with anyone they "met" online.

• Children's screen names should be nondescript so as not to identify them as a child. Also Web sites for children are not permitted to request personal information without a parent's permission. Talk to your child about what personal information is and why you should never give it to people online.

• Talk to your child about not responding to offensive or dangerous e-mail, chat or other communications. Report any such communication to local law enforcement. Do not delete the offensive or dangerous e-mail; turn off the monitor, and contact police.

• Look into safeguarding programs or options your online service provider might offer. These may include monitoring or filtering capabilities.

• Let your child show you what they can do online, and visit their favorite sites. Let your child know which sites are off-limits.

• Know with whom your children are exchanging e-mail and only let them use chat areas when you can supervise. NetSmartz Workshoprecommends limiting chat room access to child-friendly chat sites.

• Talk to children about what to do if they see something that makes them feel scared, uncomfortable, or confused. Show them how to turn off the monitor and emphasize that it's not their fault if they see something upsetting. Remind children to tell a trusted adult if they see something that bothers them.

• If you suspect online "stalking" or sexual exploitation of a child, report it to your local law-enforcement agency. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children runs the CyberTipline® at 1-800-THE-LOST. Leads forwarded to the site will be acknowledged and shared with the appropriate law-enforcement agency for investigation.

At Boys & Girls Club of America, part of our mission is to ensure that all children have an ongoing relationship with a caring adult. We realize that the children in our communities, be they our sons and daughters or otherwise, need the positive influence of an adult to help them learn and grow into responsible, healthy, productive members of society. Every child has the potential to be great, and we can all play a part in supporting them as they reach for success.

The positive influence an adult can have isn't just contained to the real world - it also applies to the virtual world. It is important that every child learns how to be a good cyber citizen and that they learn how to behave in a safe and healthy way online. In addition to helping children learn the ways of the world, and prepare them to be healthy, mature functioning members of society, adults should equally prepare them for the digital world.

Spending just a little bit of quality time with our children online can make all the difference. Some activities we suggest include:

• Watch them play their favorite video games — Talk to them about the kinds of video games they like to play. This will help you better understand what your children are playing and help make sure that they are not playing games you do not approve of.
• Visit their social networking profiles (i.e. Facebook, MySpace, etc.) together — See how they are presenting themselves to the online world, view who their friends are online, and talk to them about the importance of preserving a good reputation off and on line.
• Ask them to take you to some of their favorite websites — Have them show you the places that they hang out in the digital world. Not only will you get a better idea of what they are doing online, but you might learn even more about the kinds of things your child is interested in.
• Show them some of your favorite websites — Help them learn more about the kind of interests you have such as a sports site, news site, or a blog you follow.
• Talk to them about their online experiences — Make sure they know they can talk to you if they encounter a problem online, be it cyberbullying, or inappropriate contact from a stranger. Keep the lines of communications open.

We know it's not easy to be a parent these days. Finding quality time to spend with our children, amidst the daily stresses of life, is oftentimes, difficult. Just carving out some quality time to spend with our kids, can make a difference. It is these conversations and actions that will help make the digital world, and in turn, the real world a healthier, safer place to live.

Cyndi Court, Executive Vice President, Boys & Girls Clubs of America

Cyndi Court is the executive vice president of resource development and marketing for Boys & Girls Clubs of America, one of the nation's leading youth development non-profit organizations. BGCA provides life-changing programs to some 4.5 million youth served through membership and community outreach, inspiring them to BE GREAT.