Xbox president Robbie Bach joined Jerry Rice and PTA CEO Warlene Gary in Washington DC today, talking to teachers, students, and parents about about the benefits of being a kid in the digital age and the challenges parents can face in navigating this complex new world. 

We commissioned an independent reasearch study to find out about how parents already set limits to "screen time," and found that 45 percent of parents say that enforcing rules about their children’s media consumption creates tension at home. Nearly all families (99 percent) have some rules, but less than half (47 percent) have comprehensive rules concerning access, content and time. The research revealed that only 16 percent of families actually put media use rules in writing, and 40 percent involve children in related discussions.  

We announced today a new feature that will help make the Xbox 360 a safe way for families to enjoy appropriate entertainment.  The Xbox 360 Family Timer will let parents set daily or weekly time limits for the Xbox 360. 

We also released today, along with the National PTA (Parent Teacher Association) a new brochure that parents can use to start a discussion with their kids about being responsible with the entertainment they choose. 

From the press release:

The family PACT is a comprehensive, proactive approach to setting rules on media use and asks parents and children to agree on the level of Parental involvement; the amount of Access children can have, including who they are allowed to play and interact with online; the types of Content children are allowed to play or watch, and the amount of Time children can use media. The family PACT is available for immediate download at http://www.xbox.com/isyourfamilyset.

Another all-new parental tool unveiled today is the Xbox 360 Family Timer, an addition to the console’s existing set of industry-leading parental control features.  Similar to its Windows Vista counterpart, the new Xbox 360 Family Timer can restrict children’s activity time and can be set on a per-day or per-week basis. Helpful “notifications” will appear to warn the gamer that the session is nearing the end and the feature will automatically turn off the console when a pre-determined time limit has been exceeded.  The Family Timer feature will be available for download via Xbox LIVE in early December. 

More information can be found in the press release we sent out earlier today.