I remember to this day how much I fought against getting video games in my home. I held the boys off for as long as I could but between them and our neighbor at the time, I eventually lost the battle. I think my son was around 8 or so when we got an Xbox.
In the beginning it was easy to limit his time on the game and to monitor what games he was playing. As he got older, it got more difficult, but I could still maintain some control. His last two years of high school were difficult and now that he is an adult, forget it. Some days it seems like I barely see him. He is always online with his friends.
I guess I can be happy that he does not play those dark and evil type games, although some have been questionable to me. Mainly they play NBA games and such. What does bother me is that he seems to have nothing else going on since he started college. All of his friends have scattered and he is mainly getting his entertainment from the games now. Ugh! I hate it!
So how do you break someone from the video game habit? It has become such a way of life in our children. I hate that they are like hermits and hate doing things. It is a constant battle that I want to help him break.
Do you know or have kids that have been through this? What tips do you have to help break the video game habit in teens?
I think limiting time and encouraging other activities is a good strategy when they are young but hard to do as they get older. Our family is big on outdoor sports such as skiing and hiking and I do think that has a natural impact on limiting game time.
The idea is to make sure he has other activities to do that he enjoys. I believe your son is a swimmer, so encourage that and have a family board game or movie night.
How timely to read this just now. I read this morning an article entitled How To Capitalize On The Time You Have, and it specifically mentioned parents having problems with just this topic. Yep, I agree strict discipline but I don’t have teens to educate like you, so I feel ill equipped to give advice!
I’m old enough to remember Pong, Atari, Nintendo, etc. at the beginning! So, I remember how my Mom hated that I, and especially my little brother, spent too much time playing those games. Today, I’m 50, my brother is 44, & yes, we play games on Facebook (Save Me From Candy Crush, lol) & he plays Xbox, Wii, etc., with his kids. BUT I can assure you it does ease off when real life takes over. Work, kids, family, etc., push the games into a back seat. I think we just have to accept that these games are a part of the modern world. Kids play them the way we used to play board games or outdoor games. And hey, he might find a career in them!
My grandson loves video games and is restricted on time and when he can. The problem becomes when he goes to his friends and they are allowed to play whenever. My kids went through the video game phase but we would often try to get involved in their playing. We did the opposite and let them play right when they got home from school. They could watch TV or play games for an hour to give themselves a break from school. This seemed to help them unwind and helped limit the time because they knew homework had to be done still before bed. Wouldn’t work for everyone but did for us.
Viseo games are what we refer to as ‘time sucks’ and I have to admit, I am not into video games but rather the internet and social media which in and of itself is just as bad,
I think like anything else it becomes a hanit- the trick is breaking the habit. Most habits take 30 days or more to break and usually involve either replacing it with something else or a decision by the person who has the habit to stop.
If it is a child, my only afvice is to use it as a reward.
I agree with you these games are poison. I guess there may be some good sports ones out there but the commercials that I see on television scare me they are so evil and violent. There is even video games out now where the player gets points for rape! Seriously look it up! How evil is that! These companies need to be sued and censored. The only advice that I can offer is if you have children do not allow them to play at all! I know the peer pressure is difficult for kids when other kids do nothing else but play video games. The only advice that I can offer is to steer your kids away from those kids push sports, music, art anything else! I remember when Atari came out and my dad got it for us and my mother flipped out. Pretty soon the Atari was gone and I was back outside building forts and working with the animals on our farm. I am so thankful for that.
I think setting rules and limits is the right way to get the kids off the video games, as well as TV. I let my kids play video games but they can only play after homework is done, and no more than one hour. I also do not let them play online unless I know the other players. Some of the language of the online groups was vulgar and mean. I have them each sign a contract, that spells out the punishment if they choose to go outside the rules. It has worked really well. .