Urban Mamas

We go in cycles with screen time dependencies in my house: sometimes, I feel we're balanced and getting all the imaginative play / book / outside time we need... and then there are the other times, when I have to stop myself from getting shrill. And who am I to talk, anyway? Not only do I spend plenty of time on the computer writing (or, more likely, trying to focus on my writing and instead only playing around -- err, "connecting with community" on Twitter or flickr or, yeah, you know the story), but lately, there's been Word With Friends on the iPod Touch.

It's a simple little application very much like Scrabble that's got me hooked. I've been staying up too late some nights to come up with a great word, and sometimes reaching for it when I should be paying attention to my kids' adorableness (which has begun to reach outrageous new levels) or reading. I've been trying to stay my hand from reaching for that. What harm can it do, right? (Right? Right?)

I was seriously heartened to learn another mama I know -- one who reads more than just about anyone charged with the upbringing of a goodly number of children -- had lately become enamored with Plants Vs. Zombies on the iPhone. It's even better on the iPad, she told me, groaning. She's made rules for herself to keep it under control. (I shouldn't have, but I tried it. And, Oh no.)

Have you, too, fallen under the electronic sway of a little game or online predilection? How do you keep it under control? What is your electronic little helper?