The Internet.

There's no escaping it. Computers are everywhere and on those computers is access to nearly anything your heart desires. Most adults have enough common sense (notice I said MOST) to use the Internet safely, but our children aren't blessed with such experience and wisdom.

Here are some things that parents need to know about children and the Internet.

Pope Benedict XVI is no stranger to the ways of the web. He's actually proven himself to be quite a fan of technology, having tweeted using an iPad to announce the inauguration of a Vatican news service and giving his thumbs-up to an iPhone app that lets believers keep track of their sins. There's even an official Vatican Twitter feed. Pretty cool to see the Pope keeping up with the times!

But the leader of more than a billion Catholics worldwide also recently shared some words of caution about sites like Google, Twitter, and Facebook that apply to all of us, no matter our faith and background.

If you've ever complained about Facebook (the over-sharing! the bragging! the whining and complaining!), this story will make you glad the social networking site is as popular as it is. In a very scary story out of Kansas City, 15-year-old Isabella Davies was missing for more than 12 hours after failing to get on her school bus. This autistic girl was eventually discovered by a stranger, who happened to visit Isabella's mother's Facebook page she had set up for her boutique.

Random. And pretty amazing when you realize the reach of Facebook goes well beyond your personal friends and family members, and right when you need it. Or right when the Davies family needed it, as shown by this story with a happy ending that could have gone horribly wrong.

You've probably heard by now that websites the World Wide Web over are joining in the blackout in protest of SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect Intellectual Property Act, nothing to do with Pippa Middleton, unfortunately). Most alarmingly, Wikipedia has joined the protest -- so good luck winning that Ryan Gosling trivia contest today.

SOPA is a serious threat to thousands of organizations and website creators, not to mention millions of users. But here's what I'm worried about: SOPA could kill all the laughter and fun on the Internet. Do you want to see the LOLcats die? I don't. Here's some of the fun the SOPA protest blackout is depriving you of today.

During the thrilling, exhausting, terrifying first weeks after my son was born, I remember laboring over an increasingly complicated Excel spreadsheet. In it, my husband and I attempted to track everything that went into or came out of our newborn's body, and in the case of the exit details, whether it was a liquid or semi-solid or Mystery Substance or what.

It got obsessive, this documentation process, and after a particularly panicked episode where I became convinced my child was fatally constipated (because the chart said so! ALL HAIL THE CHART!), we gave up the practice altogether in favor of 1) sanity, and 2) common sense.

Which is why I'm here to gently caution against the new influx of "baby tracking" applications that allow you to keep meticulous record of your infant's sleeping, eating, and diapering habits.

I don't know if it's possible for me to pick a favorite game out of the bazillion I have on my iPad, but I've got to be honest -- Fruit Ninja is definitely at the top of my list. The Halfbrick Studios game is nothing too crazy, essentially you just swipe at digital fruit that's being thrown across the eensy screen, "cut" them in half, and get points. Sounds easy enough, right?

What if I told you that the game is so simple, a cat can play it? Yup. Get this: A man let his feline loose on his iPad to play a rousing game of Fruit Ninja, and the results are something you've got to see to believe.

Watch all the frisky action after the jump:

Now is the season for travel and if you're leaving a house behind (or leaving older relatives after the festivities) you may be thinking a bit about keeping the house safe and sound while you're gone. In-home camera systems have always been prohibitively expensive but newer wireless technologies and low-power camera systems now allow you to keep an eye on the hearth and home using a few simple cameras and a wireless network.

Here are some of my favorite choices for keeping an eye on things while you're away.

A couple of years ago, everyone I knew was ranting and raving (mostly raving) about this awesome new site called "Facebook." I was dubious, but they all insisted that they'd reconnected with old friends there and their lives were better for having this account. It took a lot of wheedling and whining, but eventually I signed up for it.

Turns out, it's almost identical to MySpace, which I DID have an account on (I'm dating myself here).

It also did not change my life in any way.

Wait, I take that back. It did change my life -- for the worse.

This is why I will never allow my kids to have a Facebook account.