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.

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?

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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. 

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

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.