[Caff]

When my 3 were very young (20, 18 and 14 now) I knew exactly how long I was going to let them watch TV every day. PCs never entered into the equasion. But children tend to want to be these independent little things!

4 years ago I had to stop my daughter (now 18) from chatting all evening, for 2 years, because her grades were dropping.
But she has, through using her PC and the interntet, learned to touch-type, hosts fan site listings and programs her own website.
She organised a week-long trip to a Lord of the Rings convention for 14 young people she 'met' on the internet of which none had ever met in real life and from various parts of England, Wales, Germany and The US. She regularly stay and holidays with these friends, and they often stay with us. I have to say that some of them are a heck of a lot more pleasant than some of her local friends! She sailed through college studies in business admin and now is ready to start a degree in business management. She has just started to promo work for one of her favourite bands.
I doubt that any of this would have happened without her PC and 'chatting'.

But I had to be vigilant on her behalf for years and her PC also had to be in the lounge. I also had to trust her judgement and character.