Kids' nightmare, the rumored Parental Timer, soon to become available within the latest Xbox 360 update from Microsoft, is a reality. The electronics giant itself has confirmed it just yesterday, making it the video game industry's first and only "Family Timer." The feature will allow parents to keep track of their offspring's gameplay hours, setting the appropriate amount of entertainment time on a daily or weekly basis, according to Microsoft.

"As a leader in interactive entertainment, it's Microsoft's responsibility to provide parents with tools they can use to manage their children's video gaming and online experiences, and we have made that a priority from the very start," said Robbie Bach, president of the Entertainment and Devices Division at Microsoft.

The Family Timer for Xbox 360 is quite Similar to its Windows Vista counterpart, as it can restrict the 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.

Xbox was the first video game and entertainment system with built-in parental controls for both online and offline use. Bach added that with more than 13 million Xbox 360 consoles sold worldwide, it's Microsoft's responsibility to release this service: "We've seen a tremendous response to the robust parental controls offered on Xbox 360 and Windows Vista, and the Xbox 360 Family Timer will continue to deliver on our promise to provide safer, balanced and fun entertainment for everyone," said Bach. "Professionally, I am proud of my division's work in this area, and personally, as a parent of three school-age children, I know how important it is to be engaged in an ongoing dialogue with my family in order to uphold our household screen time rules."

So, need I add that a lot of kids will grow up to be frustrated just because their parents put the lock on their fun...? I don't think so. The respective update goes Live in December, this year.