Ahhh SRose!
Prayers for you and your family.
Can you get him to read "The world is Flat?" It's in version 3.0. I read 2.0 as an audio book and it really gave me a lot of hope. If he won't read it, then you do, and keep leaving it in the bathroom, etc.....
I agree that 'work ethic' is the key you want him to have - I like the 'Gap year' idea - a horse ranch sounds ideal. Or a really fine boarding school, or college NOW.
Check out 'What Hight Schools don't tell you' by Elizabeth Wissner-Bross. She was good at inspiring me to 'listen and believe' in what my DS12 was saying about what he wants out of life. On page 270 she outlines a bunch of summer programs that track a kid toward a career in gaming, and -suprise - all those programs require kids to do well in school during the year to be chosen.
As far as parental controls, call the game company and see what you can do. Particularly for games that have a montly fee, if DS dosen't have cash or a credit card, there are some built in limitations. I recently had my son's World of WarCrack account set up so that I can change his password on him, and he can't get it back unless he knows my email password. -gulp- I needed to be able to threaten credibly, particularly with the new upgrade coming mid-November.
I do think that there is a lot of good in Gaming, but there is also the potential for abuse. We are still the adults, and in the end, have to excersize our best judgement. But my goal is to stoke my son's motivation and assist him in steering his life.
Prayers,
Grinity
