Locked in their bedrooms, playing video games into the small hours, children as young as 10 years old are now addicted to their consoles. Tim Lewis hears how the compulsive games can be impossible to resist – and meets the experts tackling the issue
I have kids that age, my kids have consoles, and they don’t play into the wee hours of the morning. Why? Because I don’t let them. I don’t have draconian parental controls or whatever, I just tell them they’re not allowed and put consequences in place if they disobey. As they get older, the allowed playtime goes up, provided they’re meeting their obligations.
It’s not rocket surgery, just don’t suck at being a parent.
That said, I imagine there are cases where even a good parent can not notice deviant behavior like this. But for the vast majority, a few rules and regular checking in should cover it.
I know when I was a kid I always wanted to sneak out (to the other room) and play more games after bed. A couple times Many times I did. And I got caught, and got in trouble.
I learned far more about setting reasonable limits by getting caught than I ever would with software blocks. I was very curious about computers, so I probably could’ve gotten around software blocks if I tried, but the guilt of my parents catching me and explaining why I need limits was much more effective.
It takes more effort, but hopefully the lessons learned are more lasting.
Yep I would try to find ways around. Games my parents wouldn’t get me I’d give money to my friends to buy me a copy when they went off to get their own. And that’s fine. Important thing is boundaries are something they are aware of even if they break them. That to me seems like parenting. It’s not fool proof and rules are going to get broken, but it’s not a reason to not make an effort.
The solution here is parenting.
I have kids that age, my kids have consoles, and they don’t play into the wee hours of the morning. Why? Because I don’t let them. I don’t have draconian parental controls or whatever, I just tell them they’re not allowed and put consequences in place if they disobey. As they get older, the allowed playtime goes up, provided they’re meeting their obligations.
It’s not rocket surgery, just don’t suck at being a parent.
That said, I imagine there are cases where even a good parent can not notice deviant behavior like this. But for the vast majority, a few rules and regular checking in should cover it.
I know when I was a kid I always wanted to sneak out (to the other room) and play more games after bed.
A couple timesMany times I did. And I got caught, and got in trouble.Yup, that’s my plan as well.
I learned far more about setting reasonable limits by getting caught than I ever would with software blocks. I was very curious about computers, so I probably could’ve gotten around software blocks if I tried, but the guilt of my parents catching me and explaining why I need limits was much more effective.
It takes more effort, but hopefully the lessons learned are more lasting.
Yep I would try to find ways around. Games my parents wouldn’t get me I’d give money to my friends to buy me a copy when they went off to get their own. And that’s fine. Important thing is boundaries are something they are aware of even if they break them. That to me seems like parenting. It’s not fool proof and rules are going to get broken, but it’s not a reason to not make an effort.