I don’t think you’re being unreasonable with your limit. DS12 loved Minecraft too, and we set limits of 1 hour per day on weekends. Otherwise, he could have played all day long.
Neither my husband nor I would be able to handle an hour of scream-crying. A couple suggestions:
Let your son know how much the scream-crying disturbs the household and how it’s not acceptable behaviour for a big boy of 8. (Obviously, hold this discussion when he’s not upset.) At the same time, let him know about the new rules. I would suggest either:
- If he’s going to continue to carry on when time’s up, he won’t be allowed to start--no minecraft at all the next day.
- Or, deduct crying time from his time. He cries for five minutes today, you deduct five minutes from his next session. He cries for an hour, you deduct an hour. It’s up to him.
Also, maybe set a timer, instead of telling your son when the time is up. Somehow a timer is more impersonal and harder to argue with.
Good luck!
