So you’ve decided to get a Wii. Well, it’s a good news/bad news proposition. First the bad news: Nintendo keeps a level playing field by setting a standard price for its console — $199.99 — which makes shopping around for the best price fruitless. But the good news is that the Wii world is a little more complex than that, so savvy shoppers can still save some dough. Here’s how.

1. Look for a gift-card bonus. The way some retailers get around Nintendo’s MSRP (or any manufacturer’s, for that matter) is a…

The middle school crowd is crazy for YouTube. I mean, if you don’t know who Fred is, you haven’t been paying attention! My son has jumped on the bandwagon, and is a frequent video poster and viewer. (The Flip camera he received for Christmas a couple of years ago gathered dust — literally — for more than a year before it became indispensable about six months ago.) His activity is focused on creating videos — mostly “instructional” but sometimes just opinions — about his hobbies (primarily fishing and street hockey). Once…

A family room makeover in a design magazine recently caught my eye. The room included two identical TVs on one wall (with a fireplace between). The caption explained that the intention was for two people to watch TV “together,” each  using a separate screen and headphones.

I had mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, it embraced reality: Cable television has become so diverse and specialized that each family member finds programming developed specifically for their interests (or age group). On the other hand, it’s sort of sad to…

1. Lying about the child’s age. This comes up when setting up accounts on adult sites. (By that I mean sites that are generally used by adults and not kids, but for purposes I’ve deemed appropriate for someone younger than the 18-year-old requirement. )…

My colleague Leah Ingram, who blogs about frugal living over at SuddenlyFrugal, has some great suggestions for ways parents and kids can get the best values when buying used video games or selling them. For example, do you know when is the best time to sell a video game? Or which games hold their values best? I sure didn’t. Head over to Leah’s post for all the details.

A recent survey by Common Sense Media shows that 35 percent of students use their cell phones to cheat on tests. Here’s how they do it:

Happily, teachers…

A simple thought/question as we approach the weekend: Should cell phones be banned from the bedroom during sleepovers? This hadn’t occurred to me until another parent brought it up, but as I thought about it, it made good sense. Even the best kid can lose good judgment in a group. Especially a group behind closed doors. Especially when holding a way to reach way beyond those doors.

What kind of trouble can kids get into as a group, holed up in a bedroom with a phone, that they wouldn’t on…