I'm going to scoop myself with this post since I'm doing a story parenting in the digital age in the Oct. issue of Her Times, but I want to tell you about a great parenting resource I found online. Mediawise offers some really great parenting advice and guides on all kinds of media -- from television to internet to video games. (You'll have to register to download the guides).

Be sure to check out their family contracts -- like the "Family Netiquette Plan" and the "Internet Respect Plan."

The bottom line when it comes to parenting in the digital age is to be informed (about ratings, about Web sites kids frequent, about emerging technologies, etc.) and you can become informed at MediaWise.

I know...I know...you don't have time to surf and time to read all this stuff, but ... I urge you to make the time. This is the important stuff -- the dirty dishes can wait and the laundry can sit awhile longer.

The internet, media and new digital technologies have more influence over your child's life that you realize -- it impacts the way they learn, the way they socialize, the way they think, the way they behave ... and much more.

The good news is that there is one thing that has more influence on your child -- you.