Sue Scheff: Just Turn it OFF - Get Connect with Your Teens Again

Parenting is becoming extinct. Not really, but parents need to go back to parenting and tell their kids to "turn it off!" Turn off the cell phones, turn off the television, turn off the Ipod, turn off the computer and tune into the family!

The latest report from Kaiser Family Foundation has found that kids and teens are spending approximately 7.5 hours a day with "hooked-up" to technology. Whether it is texting, watching TV, listening to music or surfing the net, the emotional connection of a family circle is breaking down.

A national survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that with technology allowing nearly 24-hour media access as children and teens go about their daily lives, the amount of time young people spend with entertainment media has risen dramatically, especially among minority youth. Today, 8-18 year-olds devote an average of 7 hours and 38 minutes (7:38) to using entertainment media across a typical day (more than 53 hours a week). And because they spend so much of that time 'media multitasking' (using more than one medium at a time), they actually manage to pack a total of 10 hours and 45 minutes (10:45) worth of media content into those 7½ hours. - Kaiser Family Foundation

What can you do as a parent? Be an example! Some parents are guilty of the techno obsession today too. Our kids have to see parents "turning it off" and being part of the family circle. Start with dinner time - get absolutely "unplugged" from it all and spend an hour discussing with each other about the day's events. We all know that finding that time for family has become more difficult, so if dinner is out, plan a 15-130 family time out later in the evening and get un-wired!

Learn about recycling your electronic gadgets, do it as a family.

Be an educated and involved parent, you will have happier, safer, and healthier children.

Watch report from MSNBC and read more about this topic.