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Five Year Old Boy "addicted" To Video Games -- How Do I Get Him Interested In Other Things?
Perry-Aultman, 2007-07-30 11:27:33
I watch my sister's kids during the day and I have been for pretty much three years now. The two girls are 10 and 4, and the lone boy is 5.The issue is with the boy. Each child only plays a maximum of 30 minutes a day, one turn for 15 minutes to a game they want to play, and the remaining 15 minutes devoted to an educational game, like JumpStart Learning, Hooked on Phonics or Reader Rabbit. We'll watch about an hours worth of television a day, one show in the morning and another show while I'm cooking dinner. The boy LOVES video games, just not the learning type. When it's time to turn the "just for fun" video game off, he takes an extra 5 minutes, at least, or until I take it away. When he wakes up in the morning, before he goes to the restroom or eats breakfast, he asks about playing video games, and when I say, "Not yet, we'll play games at x", he'll keep asking about it until it's time to play the video games. Continued...He doesn't want to color, he doesn't want to go outside, he doesn't want to go to the park, he doesn't want to read a book, he doesn't want to play anything else other than video games.When he actually does play with friends or his sisters, he only wants to play video games with them, or pretend they're in the video game. They (my sister and her family) went to Stone Mountain (big mountain with lots of family activities and a lazer show) this past weekend, he threw a fit over not being able to bring his gameboy.I'm just not sure of what to do to get him interested in other things. I love him, he's my boy, I potty trained him, taught him how to write and ride a bike and I've been with him. But he just doesn't seem to care about anything else and I miss just running around the yard with him, pretending. Or coloring with him, or reading a book with him. Any advice please? ):I've been thinking about cutting out the "just for fun" video game time for him, but it doesn't seem that fair since his sister's play video games just for fun, but they don't have issues with it.But then, they usually pick out the more educational games over the other.You know what, that comment that I don't do things with the kids is a low blow and I truely do not appreciate it.We go to the park. We color.We read.We practice writing and math.We blow bubbles out in the yard and play in the sprinklers.And it's not that I'm sitting on my ass the whole day just watching them play, not like these other moms I see at the park that are on their cellphones or talking to one of their other mom friends. I'm with them, going down the slides, pushing them on swings, practicing with them, making up games, making things fun, coloring with them, reading to them, having them read to me, doing all of that. He just doesn't care anymore. It's a fight to get his shoes on so we can go to the park. Don't assume things.
2007-07-30 12:40:06 Ethelene-Fylbrigg wrote: give him a countdown when he is playing the game. 10 more minutes, 5 minutes, 1 minute, 30 seconds, even a 10 second countdown. let him know that once the countdown is done, so is he. any extra time taken will be subtracted from tomorrow's time. if he goes into the negative then he loses a day.give him a chance to earn extra time. i told my sons that for every minute they read, they get half that time in x-box minutes. to play an extra 15 minutes in the day, they have to read for 30 minutes (and i make sure they are actually reading by scanning the book they are reading and asking questions). the girls can do the same for tv time.
2007-07-30 12:25:39 Gema-Mcdonald wrote: tell him if he keeps asking that he wont get to play it will work you just have to put your foot down
2007-07-30 12:29:12 Guadalupe-Dennis wrote: in my experience boys are a lot more interested in playing video games than most girls. my son would play all day if i let him and my daughter usually only plays a couple of times a week. i would just plan other activities for all of the kids and then go out and do these activities together. since you are the babysitter, you could even go so far as to say "we don't play video games at my house". he won't like it at first, but eventually he'll get used to the idea.you might let him play as video characters. the kids in my family all used to play like they were the characters in the "zelda" vidoe games. i can remember playing "little house on the prairie" as a kid and i know a lot of the older generation played "lone ranger" and things like that. as long as they are playing they are still using their imagination and not just sitting on their butts all day long.i have a real issue with video games. my nephew is 6 and he plays them all day long... when i go to my sister's house, all the other kids go out to play, and he just sits in the house and plays these games.... he really has a problem. i would not allow any video games at your house what so ever. my kids have them, but we put them up before my nephew comes over because we know it will be a fight, and he will want to play.. we told him they are broken and in for repair. mi would talk to my sis and share your concerns with her. i told my sis (who is a stay at home mom) to stop letting him sit in front of that tv all day, and just take them away completely......which she refused to do. it is a shame that a lot of parents use the games and tv as babysitters so they don't have to pay attention to their kids.
2007-07-30 12:43:47 Augustus-Burns wrote: my son was like that too. now he plays outside like most little boys and climbs trees and collects bugs. i unplugged the x box, play station and game cube and told him i forgot how to plug it back in. i said if you can do it then you can play it. he forgot about it soon enough.
2007-07-30 12:29:50 Arlie-Butt wrote: Wow- well, since it's your sister's son, it would be up to her, too, but in my opinion, you need to cut out the video games, 100%, and ASAP. He does sound very addicted. How sad. I think that he sounds like the kind of personality that when addicted to something, it's all they think about, and can't handle even a little bit of whatever they are addicted to. I'd talk to your sister about your concerns, and see if she agrees with cutting video games out 100%. I'm sure it would be rough for a while, but after a bit, I think he'd eventually find an interest in something else. If you don't cut it out, it sounds like he'll just stay obsessed. Video games are not healthy anyways, 'educational' or not. There are much better ways to teach kids the skills they 'learn' while playing the educational games. The girls sound like they have fun doing the other things you do, so don't use "they have fun playing the games" as an excuse to say that they are okay. We had an Indian Powwow here this summer, and my sister has a picture of her 8 year old twins laying in the grass playing video games with the Powwow in the background. I hope this isn't your nephew's future... good luck~
