Obsessed with online gaming

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For some of you, this will be more challenging than for others. Some kids are much more deeply involved with video games and setting limits in these cases will be harder. If most of the above examples sound like your child, or if your child becomes destructive, aggressive, threatening or violent when you try to enforce or set limits on their gaming, it might be helpful for you to talk to someone in your area who can work directly with you and your child as you make changes.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends limiting video games to one hour per day. Let your child know you are starting to question whether video games have a place in your home because they seem to cause a lot of problems. Let your child know what guidelines you are going to be using to determine if video games are working out or not.

James Lehman talks about four questions you can use to assess a new limit in your home:. Work together with your child to find a new technique he can use to try to shut down the video games in a much more timely fashion.

For example, maybe you discuss the idea of your child avoiding certain more engaging games at certain times, or set up a reward system for turning the game off when a timer goes off. Talk these things over with your child to help him be successful. But, I found that most of these companies have websites with instructions for setting up parental controls. And get ready for this, parents: did you know that Xbox is equipped with a family timer? You can program the console to shut itself off after the allotted gaming time has been used up for the day!

Here are some links to some websites for more information about parental controls. You could also require your child to participate in some sort of group activity once per week, such as a sport, club, or youth group.

The key here is to let your child choose the activity. Until they choose an activity, you might restrict their game use on the weekends to encourage time with friends. Perhaps the trickiest thing of all is that there is no cookie-cutter formula to determine how much video game time is too much, or what limits and consequences are appropriate for your child. Every child is different. Some children are able to shift into a different activity more easily, while others are more vulnerable targets for the highly rewarding design of the games.

In the end you just have to trust your gut and go with what feels right for your family. Sara Bean, M. She is also a proud mom. You must log in to leave a comment. Don't have an account? Create one for free! I have an year-old son who fits the bill of every other kid talked about here in terms of his interest in video games.

He is allowed around 30 minutes on Wednesdays, 45 minutes Fridays, and an hour-and-a-half over the weekend. This limit is a compromise between myself and their dad, who happends to- in my opinion- have a screen fetish himself.

His platform of choice is his ipad. An avid reader, most reading is on his ipad; but temptation runs thick when the internet is a click away. Naturally then, my kids want to look, and ask questions relating to a game they all play on their ipads. Honestly I think it would better with no ipads; both kids do actually.

My husband will correct them when they get upset, but while facing his own ipad. How in the heck am I supposed to govern and teach about alternatives to electronic time when my husband is, in my opinion, addicted to screens himself?

I have brought it up in some ways that that is all I perceive, and h comes back with- this is how I am. It makes it so hard in this day in age.

Hello everyone. I have a bit of a different problem that I need some advice on. My boyfriends 15yr old daughter is a recluse in every way. From an early age she liked video games, of course.

From the moment she wakes up til she is told to go to bed, she is playing her games. She does nothing else. Not even looking after herself. From what Ive been told from her father, this is how she spends evety day at home with her mom. Wrapped up in her little world. What I cant believe is that her Mom allows this. Not only allows it but buys her every gaming system or game she wants.

Just so she is not bothering her. Ive raised 3 daughters of my own and it just kills me to see this poor girl being shut out of living. My boyfriend, her father sees her once every 5 to 6 weeks and a week or two over Christmas and summers. Hes afraid to do anything about it for fear she wont want to see him anymore.

Not that being obsessed with something is always a bad thing. Obsession has kind of a sinister ring to it. They do have similar meanings, though. A passion is something you also have an intense desire or unbridled enthusiasm for. Like an obsession, you may think about your passion all the time. You may be obsessed with internet gaming and passionate about playing.