The computer can be a valuable educational and entertainment asset in your home – especially if you have children. However, it is important to set limits on the amount of time your kids spend on the computer starting at a young age. Without computer time limits for kids, you risk your children developing an addiction to the Internet and time-consuming computer games.

In fact, according to a 2009 study by Pangea Media and YPulse, by the young age of 8, an astounding three out of four children say that they would rather give up the television than access to the Internet. Furthermore, the American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that too much time on the computer and other forms of media outlets can lead to obesity and attention disorders. So how can you limit screen time without being over-restrictive?

It’s that time again to say goodbye to winter and to usher in the warmer weather with a good spring cleaning. If you have, however, been wanting to create a more environmentally friendly home, spring cleaning provides the perfect opportunity to get on track with your green-living goals. Here are some green tips for spring you may want to try out this year.

Parenting tips for families on how to deal with sibling rivalry have made significant advances since the recommended action was to smack the closest — or slowest — child while loudly demanding that they all “Cut It Out!” The term sibling rivalry refers to brothers and or sisters, or both, competing for parental attention and affection. This competition is acted out between the children as fighting and arguments or teasing. At one time, a sibling’s fight with his or her rival was seen as an unsophisticated means of expressing jealousy over their incorrect assumptions regarding the parental attention their sibling rival received. However, English sibling expert, Judy Dunn, has demonstrated that babies as young as one year of age are acutely aware of parental attention given to — or withheld from — another sibling. Not surprisingly, the more parental attention and affection are unequally distributed among siblings, the more sibling rivalry, fighting and turmoil are reported.

Did you know that typical “brown-bag” lunches create 67 pounds of trash per child each year? That’s almost 20,000 pounds of waste per school – and when you multiply that by thousands of schools around the county, the waste really adds up.

Fortunately, there’s a simple solution: A zero waste lunch. Not only is this method better for the environment, it’s easy to do, provides your child with healthy meals, and costs less than using pre-packaged foods – saving your family almost $250 per year.

A recent study commissioned by Gerber Life confirms that parents with young children find it difficult to save for college. They identify two main reasons — mortgage/rent payments and general household bills.