Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Video Games zapping my sons brain

Had to track down this thread when I read about this product (gameDR): http://www.digitalinnovations.com/electronics-accessories/gamedr-video-game-timer.html

You set a timer, and it shuts the electricity off of the gaming unit when the time is up.

All kids are different in their susceptability to this obsession. For a year or two, around ages 5-7 we battled this addiction. Had to buy the new game, obsessed with playing, wouldn't do anything else. Now at 8 I can't even interest him in a game! I will say that I sometimes limited play or took it away but I was not very consistent and in the end I let him choose his own limits. It was actually when that happened that he reached saturation level and grew bored with the games. We have Wii, Playstation and DS and they are all three sitting alone. :-) I never thought that day would come. He does enjoy some computer games now like Civ. IV and Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean but has no trouble turning them off to go do something else. Hope this eases some frustrated parents...

This might belong on the brag thread but relates here. I was reading through my DS8's journal entries from the school year and came across the following paragraph...

"I was playing a hard video game called Pokemon Leaf Green. It was my first time ever playing video games. I was excited. At first I got frustrated and said nonsense words like 'flobber worm' and 'Sphinx'. I played every second of the day; I could not stop. It was sooooooooooooo fun. I played it while watching a movie; when we were in the car; when I was eating dinner. I even played it at 7:30 when I was supposed to be in bed. I hid it under my pillow. When I got my first gym badge I was flabbergasted! I kept on going. In fact, sometimes I was so excited I was quivering."

There are about 8 pages relating his video game obsession. This lasted until baseball season and then we were on to that. Now we are onto gymnastics and the computer (Pirates of the Caribbean and Civilization IV)Just thought his perspective on his video game craze was funny.

In my household, there is no question that we are technology obsessed. Four computers (one per person), Wii, Xbox360, DS. I decided that I would go down the route of letting my sons choose what they wanted to do as long as it did not last too long. My children can both play for hours at a time on new games, and I know the excitement of the new toy, so I let them. But, if it lasts longer than a couple of days, then I start pushing them to go outside.

My older one generally balances well on his own. He plays a bit, then wants to go see his friends. My younger one is obsessed, but he knows he is and it annoys him. I never thought I'd hear a six-year-old say, "Mom, turn off the tv cause I get sucked in and I want to do something else."

My theory is that the more of a "normal" thing it is to do, the less likely I'll come home to a pair of teenagers who rebel by playing obsessively 24/7.:) I'm not sure it will work, but we'll see.