Screen content is usually the domain of our Round 2 mini-podcasts on entertainment topics, but for this week's group chat we wanted to revisit the question of screen time for kids in the context of a recent announcement from the American Academy of Pediatrics. The AAP is in the process of updating its policy guidelines on screen time for kids (which both Catherine and Amanda have written about), changing it from a hard line of no screens at all for kids under 2 and two hours a day max after that to a wavier line that seems to accept the fact that parents just do not want to go there. We chatted about whether there should be a guideline and how it should be determined, whether your personal pediatrician really cares one way or another, whether anybody in Canada is making these kinds of rules, and how many moms must have beat the AAP about the heads with iPads to inspire this change.

Jumping from the world of pixels to printed paper, Amanda had us wondering whether there are any book characters we wish we could be, and why. Listen to find out who wants to move into that little house on the prairie, who longs to be snoopy little Encyclopedia Brown, who wants to leave her kids home to frolic with the Cat in the Hat, and who thinks the cool mom of Henry and Mudge is about her speed. What book would you like to move into? Share in the comments or on our Facebook page.

Finally, we shared our recommendations for the week. Catherine mentioned being interviewed for the National Alliance for Youth Sports website; Amanda touted 4 Surprising Benefits of Video Games (and Terri mentioned some surprising benefits of TV watching to go with it); Nicole liked an article about managing your child's screen time; and Terri invited you to Scream Into the Void.

Thanks as always to Jon Morin for producing our podcast and Kristin Eredics for our happy in-and-out music. If you're reading this somewhere without hyperlinks, go to http://parentingroundabout.com for the full recap experience.

What's your very favorite children's book? The one you read to your kid until it disintegrated? The one that got your child hooked on reading? The one you dug way more than your kid? We compared notes on kid-lit we've loved and loathed, finding many beloved books in common and agreeing to disagree (maybe) on whether the Magic Tree House books are sufficiently annoying to be ban-worthy.

Next, we considered the books that don't exist that we'd love to see -- and particularly the ones we figure we've got it in us to write. If you've ever wanted a children's book about room-cleaning, ideas of things to do while waiting in your car, or a guide to reassure you that you haven't really messed your kid up that badly, just help us find a publisher.

Finally, we shared our recommendations for the week: Amanda suggested we check out the Banned Books Week website, and while you're there, Catherine said to check out The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks; Nicole liked Time magazine's list of the 100 Best Children's Books of All Time; and Terri offered a list of 20 Things I Learned from Reading Children’s Fiction.

Thanks as always to Jon Morin for producing our episodes and Kristin Eredics for our happy in-and-out music.

After listening to today's podcast, you're going to want to go check out the cry playlist we set up a while back, because we're all about the blues. Nicole in particular is lamenting her partially empty nest and resenting all the mom friends who never told her she was going to feel like this when her son moved out. We consider some other things that never seemed to have made it into the parenting manual -- could we have had a heads up about the way sending kids off to school doesn't mean you get your life back, maybe? -- and go on to formulate some advice of our own about motherhood, like "You're going to want sleep more than you'll want anything else" and "It is perfectly acceptable to ignore your mother's advice."

Finally, we made our weekly recommendations of things worth checking out: Catherine liked a Cool Mom Tech list of organizational apps for back-to-school; Amanda appreciated Ellen Seidman's post on people staring at your child; Nicole thought the book Misconceptions: Truth, Lies, and the Unexpected on the Journey to Motherhood by Naomi Wolf tells it like it is; and Terri sugggested reading Robert Rummel-Hudson's post on the R Word, even though it's sad that we're still even talking about that.

Thanks as always to Jon Morin for editing our episodes, and to Kristin Eredics for our happy in-and-out music (and for still living at home, so Nicole doesn't come completely unhinged). If you're reading this somewhere without hyperlinks, come to http://parentingroundabout.com for the full recap experience.

[This is an encore presentation of a Parenting Roundabout episode originally released on April 8, 2015. If you listened to it the first time, this is your second chance to follow up on all the resources and ideas mentioned that you just never quite got around to. And if you didn’t listen to it the first time -- hey, it's new to you! Either way, please listen and enjoy.]

Are superheroes good role models for little boys? And how much should moms worry about that? Amanda chatted with her Understood.org colleague Lexi Walters Wright about violent comic-book covers, mom-created vulnerable superheroes, and the rite of passage from obliviousness to obsession when it comes to the great wide world of superhero merchandising. What do you do when your child moves on from things like space and rainbows and brown -- things you can understand and share -- to a fascination with a huge and detailed universe you know nothing about? How do you convince him that Batman pajamas don't mean you can fly, dressing up like the Hulk doesn't mean you can hit your friend, and doing the dishes is superhero-worthy work? For more on the topic, follow these links mentioned in the podcast:

+ Marvel cancels two upcoming covers following uproar over new Spider-Woman
+ Violent 'Batgirl' cover pulled after Twitter uproar
+ Mom creates a coloring book to show son that superheroes CAN cry
+ PDF of the coloring book
+ Let Toys Be Toys

What's the superhero situation in your house? Share in the comments, and if you're reading this somewhere without hyperlinks, come to http://parentingroundabout.com for the full recap experience.

Parenting books can give great ideas on how to raise and discipline and teach your children well ... or they can leave you feeling guilty and wrong and ticked off at having wasted time and money.Join About.com parenting experts Terri Mauro (specialchildren.about.com), Kathy Ceceri (homeschooling.about.com), Catherine Holecko (familyfitness.about.com), and Katherine Lee (childparenting.about.com) as we discuss some of our favorite parenting books and the ones that missed the mark. We read so you don't have to.